Eric Church on His Most Surprising and Rebellious Music

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo: Frazer Harrison/ACMA2010/Getty Images

It took an old song for Eric Church to discover the sound of his new album. In 2023, the country star was invited by Trombone Shorty to perform at his annual Jazz Fest aftershow, Treme Threauxdown. Backstage, the two spoke about how uncommon it was for artists to now blend guitars and brass despite the instruments’ intertwined histories. So Church went onstage and gave it a shot with “Cold One,” his 2014 breakup drinking song.