Eric Church: Would you buy a concert ticket from this man? Credit: Courtesy Photo / Eric Church

Following the last-minute cancellation of his Saturday show at the AT&T Center so he could attend a Final Four basketball game, country star Eric Church is trying to make amends.

In a weekend tweet, the “Drink in My Hand” singer promised to hold a free concert at New Braunfels’ Whitewater Amphitheater for people who bought tickets to the scrapped San Antonio gig.

Although Church offered a date for the performance — Friday, Sept. 2 — other details were sparse. Specifics about the “ONE of a kind FREE show” would be announced soon, he tweeted.

Last week, when Church announced his cancellation of the AT&T Center show, fans vented their anger on social media, saying they’d booked hotel rooms, air travel and rental cars to attend.

Despite the backlash, Washington Post writer Emily Yahr speculated that Church will largely quell the anger, given the loyalty of his fan base, known as the “Church Choir.” After all, the singer has made his career “fans, fans, fans all the time,” she noted.

“If there’s anyone who could get away with making a whole lot of them angry, it’s Church — and although this has the makings of a public relations mess, he’s built up enough goodwill that he’s likely to escape it,” Yahr added.

Perhaps we’ll see how true that is come September.

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This article appears in Mar 23 – Apr 5, 2022.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...