Review: Country star shows once again why he’s one of the best of all time

Eric Church delivered another impressive NorCal show, underscoring — yet again — many of the reasons why he’s one of the country music genre’s all-time greatest artists during his lengthy headlining set at the Country Summer Music Festival in Santa Rosa.

Following Lynyrd Skynyrd’s rocking headliner set on Friday night at the festival, Church topped the bill at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds on Saturday (June 17) and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable concert.

Church’s voice was in pristine condition as he mixed songs from throughout his seven studio albums, which collectively form what could well be the strongest country music discography of the last 20 years. (Miranda Lambert’s catalog, however, is also a very strong contender for that distinction.)

Backed by a versatile band, complete with a powerful three-piece horn section, Church rocked and rolled his way through such fan favorites as “Mistress Named Music,” “Drink In My Hand,” “Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Homeboy,” “Mr. Misunderstood” and the absolutely mesmerizing “Give Me Back My Hometown.”

The songs were a balance of power and poignancy, as Church sold the well-written lyrics with both purpose and style. He also ventured out of the genre’s typical comfort zone — at least when it comes to contemporary mainstream country music — to try new things, such as leaning on the horns to help funk up the tunes a bit more than you would find on the records.

Of course, the latter really shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention to Church’s career over the years. He’s always marched to his own beat, offering up a take on outlaw country music that share both strong similarities with, as well as distinct differences from, the legendary likes of Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.

Speaking of ol’ Merle, the song of the night — amid heavy competition — turned out to the full-throttle take on the Haggard-tribute “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” from Church’s great 2006 debut, “Sinners Like Me.” I’ve heard him play this song many times before over the years — but never with more conviction or better results.

Church closed the show in expected fashion, as the rest of the band exited the stage and left the future Country Music Hall of Famer alone in the spotlight to perform a stellar acoustic-guitar driven version of his classic “Springsteen” anthem.