“Career Suicide” – Eric Church Played An Hour & A Half Long Acoustic Medley With A Gospel Choir During Headlining Stagecoach Set & People Were NOT Happy

That Eric Church, you just never know what he's got up his sleeve. Chief has been around long enough that he's constantly trying out new things for his fans. During his Outsiders Revival Tour last summer, Church dug deep into his catalog, left several hits off the setlist, and performed reimagined versions of some of his biggest songs. It was incredible. He's also currently in the middle of a 19-show To Beat The Devil residency at his new downtown Nashville bar, Chief's. The intimate shows feature never-before-heard songs and acoustic storytelling from one of the greatest storytellers in country music. But on Friday night, Church took some time to make a headlining appearance at Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California. And once again, he had quite the surprise in store for the crowd. Instead of his regular high-energy show, Church stripped it back and performed an hour and a half-long acoustic medley, along with a gospel choir and the occasional brass instrument. If you've ever seen him live, you know that a frequent part of Church's live show is his "Mistress Named Music" medley where he intersperses a variety of songs from a variety of genres into his own song. Well, this was that on steroids, for the entire set. And as an Eric Church fan myself, I have to say, it was incredible. The set featured not only his own songs, but covers of everything from "Gin and Juice" to "Oh Happy Day."

@dena.g7 Eric Church doing cover songs at Stagecoach with a few of his snuck in. #stagecoach #ericchurch #ericchurchmusic #countrymusic ♬ original sound - Dena G

It's safe to say that it was unlike anything Church has ever done, and any headlining festival set attendees had ever seen. So naturally, there were quite a few people who were upset about it: https://twitter.com/rtwedge4/status/1784092502439665989 https://twitter.com/LizKellogg_/status/1784095779029975417 https://twitter.com/bentimebentime/status/1784088817936605683 https://twitter.com/markm351/status/1784094252122669130 https://twitter.com/KennethBaker97/status/1784093253115289629 https://twitter.com/tlapierre3/status/1784098309293924461 https://twitter.com/collinking13_/status/1784093917820100655 https://twitter.com/zackmirons/status/1784092387847131377 https://twitter.com/VincentVinnyVin/status/1784092728596611520 https://twitter.com/goJohnnyA/status/1784089857465155940 https://twitter.com/swervinerv82/status/1784091560209985639 https://twitter.com/Nikkipaynee/status/1784089343528964460 https://twitter.com/eyybeccs/status/1784090836269154447 https://twitter.com/YourMom19535401/status/1784096171084206129 https://twitter.com/swervinerv82/status/1784092614142087262 Now, to be fair, Church did bring in the band at the end of the show for part of "Country Music Jesus" and "Springsteen." But it's safe to say that was a unique show, and definitely not what folks were expecting for a show like a headlining set at Stagecoach. Was it a bold move? Absolutely. It's one that most artists wouldn't even think about making, much less be able to actually pull off. If you're an Eric Church fan, chances are you loved it. If you only know "Springsteen" and "Drink In My Hand," chances are you hated it. But that's what makes Church such an incredible artist. Who else would have the balls to do that on that big of a stage? Was it career suicide like some people are saying? Of course not. Church has heard that time and time again, but it's never stopped him from taking risks. And that set was a big risk from an artist who's proven time and time again that he's not afraid to go against what's expected of him. And to be fair, there were quite a few people on Twitter who were loving it too: https://twitter.com/Shane29008046/status/1784083767864291483 https://twitter.com/CollinKottke/status/1784099684606218636 https://twitter.com/CJlovesJD/status/1784093614601031730 https://twitter.com/GTlue500/status/1784086829957804411 Eric Church, always keeping fans on their toes.

Post Malone Releases Stellar Studio Cover Of Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her”

A top-tier cover from Post Malone. The Texas native released a stellar rendition of Brad Paisley's "I'm Gonna Miss Her" today, which of course he famously covered before during Matthew McConaughey’s “We’re Texas” virtual benefit concert in 2021 with Dwight Yoakam’s band. It was one of the best covers I've ever heard, and went super viral and kind of got the whole conversation of Posty going country in some form or fashion going for the first time. He also did a kickass cover of Sturgill Simpson's "You Can Have The Crown," and I've wanted Post to "go country," so to speak, ever since. And today, he released the aforementioned studio cover of the Paisley tune as an Amazon exclusive, saying in a post on Instagram that the song has "meant so much to me" for a long time and that he was honored to cover it: "This song has meant so much to me for a long time and I’m honored to be able to cover it. Love you Brad Paisley :)" While Amazon Music isn't my own personal streamer of choice, I will definitely use it just to listen to this on repeat... and if I had to guess, I would venture to say that it will eventually be put on all streaming platforms like many of the Amazon exclusives are. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PXtm8NGKj/ You can listen to a preview of it below, and of course if you have an Amazon account, you can listen to the full thing over there as well: And if you somehow haven't seen it yet, do yourself a massive favor and check out that 2021 live performance right now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ula1NjaHUA

Penn State Coach James Franklin Drove An Hour From Olu Fashanu’s House To Chop Robinson’s, Arrived Right Before He Was Drafted

Shoutout to Penn State head coach James Franklin for being a class act. Being a coach never stops, at least not for James Franklin. Though he's had countless classes of players come and go, he's always consider himself the coach of anyone who has went through Penn State. That means that he'll do whatever it takes to be there for his guys, even if it means driving all around the state of Maryland in one night. Franklin knew that his two former players, Olumuyiwa Fashanu and Chop Robinson, had a good chance of going in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. The only issue was that despite the plethora of mock drafts out there, there was no telling when the two former Penn State players could get picked. But because of projections, James Franklin started out in Waldorf, Maryland, where Fashuna and his friends and family were gathered. Sure enough, the New York Jets switched picks (with the Minnesota Vikings) from 10 to 11 and drafted offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu. Franklin was there to celebrate: https://twitter.com/PennStateFball/status/1783651530710614156 But not for long, because coach Franklin knew that he needed to then get to Gaithersburg, Maryland, which is his other former player Chop Robinson's hometown. With the towns being an hour apart, the Penn State head coach had to book it to get to the second draft party. And based on this video, Franklin and a media person following him made it literally in the nick of time. With the 21st pick, the Miami Dolphins selected edge rusher Chop Robinson, and miraculously, coach Franklin made it there with only seconds to spare: https://twitter.com/PennStateFball/status/1783705267340820860 That's pretty cool right there. It was a crazy night for James Franklin, though I'm sure he would do the exact same thing if he had to do it all over again. Not only because he got to celebrate such an important moment with his former players, but also because he apparently ran into Jelly Roll at one point. https://twitter.com/PennStateFball/status/1783717077120856208 You never know what's going to happen on draft night...

Roger Goodell Wants To Eventually Get The NFL Schedule To Have The Super Bowl Fall On A Three-Day Weekend

I can't believe I'm saying this but...is this a Roger Goodell win? It's not often that I give the NFL commissioner credit for...well, anything. (I'm also a Saints fan, so I still hold a grudge over the whole Bountygate thing a few years ago). But most of his decisions are objectively pretty bad, not to mention the uneven discipline that's often applied throughout the league. But this is an idea I think we can all get behind. Of course every year during the playoffs we hear the same cries about the Super Bowl being held on a Sunday and having to turn around and go to work the next morning. And the suggestions for how to accomplish this are usually either moving the Super Bowl to Saturday from its traditional Sunday spot, or making the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday so nobody has to take off work (or more likely show up hungover and get nothing done). Now, neither of those are going to happen. But Goodell has another idea for getting folks the day off after the Super Bowl: Move it to a weekend when everybody already has Monday off anyway. The Super Bowl is traditionally played on the second Sunday in February. But luckily for the NFL, there's already a built-in three day weekend on the calendar just a week later, with Presidents' Day falling on the third Monday in February. Presidents' Day is a federal holiday, as well as a state holiday (though many states use different names) in most states, so it seems like a natural choice for the Super Bowl if the goal is to give a large portion of the audience the day off after pounding too many beers during the game. And Goodell says he'd like to see the NFL and the Super Bowl eventually get there. During the 2024 NFL Draft, the Commish stopped by ESPN to speak with Pat McAfee and talked about the future of the NFL schedule - and how he'd eventually like to do away with some of the meaningless preseason games: "I'm not a fan of the preseason...But the reality is I think I'd rather replace a preseason game with a regular season any day. That's just picking quality. So if we got to 18 [regular season games] and 2 [preseason games], that's not an unreasonable thing. The other thing it does...that ends up on Presidents' Day weekend, which is a three day weekend, which makes the Sunday night and then you have Monday off." Now we're talking. Of course it doesn't really matter to me either way. I don't exactly have a traditional 9-5 job, and I work from home anyway. But I'm sure this is something that most NFL fans could get behind. Credit where it's due: Goodell's on the right track with this one.

@espn #RogerGoodell on the possibility of an 18-game season in the #NFL that would put the #SuperBowl on President’s Day weekend 👀 (🎥 @Pat McAfee Show Clips) #nfldraft ♬ original sound - ESPN

“RACCOON!” – Father Yeets His Own Kid Across Front Yard After Raccoon Latches On To His Leg

Every man for himself! That guideline is rarely ever appropriate, and it certainly isn't the rule to follow when it comes to protecting your own child. One father is probably still getting an ear full from his wife after he prioritized his own safety over his child's when an animal launched an attack in his front yard. The security camera footage first starts out very pleasantly, showing a father and his child share a fun moment on the front porch stairs. As the dad walks up to his kid, he reaches out his arms to signal for his child to jump into a hug. The kid obliges, and for a couple of seconds, this guy might as well be father of the year. But then he wasn't. When the father gets to the bottom of the stairs with his child in his arms, a raccoon jumps out of nowhere (from underneath the stairs) and latches on to the man's leg. Naturally, he begins to freak out, and in his momentary lapse of judgement, the dad accidentally throws his child up into the air and off into the yard. The kid lands with a thud and immediately starts crying as the dad fights away the raccoon. Once the little trash panda was no longer a threat, the father runs over to his sobbing and screaming kiddo to provide consolation. It's a flurry of chaos, and it's capped off with the mother running out of the house to see what happened. The man just yells: "Raccoon!" https://twitter.com/theangriestbuni/status/1783638206350520526 If the dad could have a do-over, he'd certainly change up his strategy. All of the good stuff the father had done just seconds before was wiped away as his kid flew threw the sky like a shooting star. I'd pay good money for the audio of the conversation afterwards (probably on the way to get a rabies shot) between the man and his wife, which probably went something like: "What do you mean you threw our kid across the yard for their own safety?" Social media got a kick out of the footage, and thank goodness there was a security camera up to capture it. Otherwise, we wouldn't have all of these funny jokes and memes in response to the hilarious video:

Raccoon to his Raccoon friends: “Hold my beer, watch this…”

— angry buni 🤬 (@theangriestbuni) April 26, 2024

pic.twitter.com/5sVUKgeeTw

— 𝙽𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝙸𝚜 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚛 𝙸𝚝 (@NashIsHereForlt) April 25, 2024

He was being responsible getting the child as far from danger as quickly as possible!

— ⚖️THEE Powerful Mel Ankoly 🇺🇦 #ForThePeople (@Mel_Ankoly) April 26, 2024

I'm not recommending this guy to babysit.

— Nancy Jean (@nancyjean1234) April 25, 2024

The Dad pic.twitter.com/IukrIQ1VHz

— Nathaniel Moore (@PeaksMaine) April 26, 2024