Eric Church Surprises Ashley McBryde Fans With 'Midnight Rider'

Ashley McBryde played the first of three straight shows at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on Thursday night (Aug. 26), and she started big. Reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Eric Church joined her for a cover of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider."

The crowd went wild when Church took the stage alongside McBryde (shoutout to opening act Lainey Wilson's Instagram Story for the proof). The two have split a bill and even shared the stage previously. In 2019, the sang Church's song "The Snake" at the ACM Awards. It was an unusual song choice for a mainstream event, but the performance received positive reviews.

On Thursday night, they chose a song released 41 years ago. The Allman Brothers Band dropped "Midnight Rider" as a part of the Idlewild South album and it would become among their most famous songs.

Between fan favorites and radio singles, McBryde performed at least one new song. CMT shares that she sang "Whiskey and Country Music," a song written during the pandemic quarantine. The "Girl Goin' Nowhere" singer has two more shows planned for the Ryman, as part of her This Town Talks Tour. On Friday she'll play with Caylee Hammack opening. On Saturday, Caitlyn Smith will open.

Church is set to begin his Gather Again Tour on Sept. 17 in Lexington, Ky. He has played several festival dates this summer.

Top 50 Eric Church Songs: His Greatest Hits and Best Deep Cuts

Eric Church’s best song fall into rows. There’s the sullen heartbreakers and the grateful lovers. There are the snarling social statements and buoyant bops. OK, there are only a couple of buoyant bops on this list of Church's 50 greatest songs, but they exist.

He's been known to sample R-Rated burners and sage truth-tellers — and then there are two songs about murder. So, Eric Church’s songs fall into rows, but there are a lot of rows in his 15-year catalog.

His best song? Taste of Country asked fans, staff and the industry to weigh in and then looked at chart success, sales data pop culture importance to choose No. 1 from No. 50. Songs with strong lyrical content rank high. Songs with creative production rank high. Songs with both ended up in the Top 5.

Source: Eric Church Surprises Ashley McBryde Fans Live, Performs ‘Midnight Rider’ Cover [Watch]

Filed Under: Ashley McBryde

Categories: Taste of Country Nights