This country superstar is coming to Boise. But ticket scalpers won’t be happy
Country superstar Eric Church has battled ticket scalpers for years.
In a sweeping move in 2017, he canceled more than 25,000 tickets for his spring nationwide tour identified as scalper purchases. Those included hundreds of tickets for a Boise show, which got re-released at face value.
Now Church is coming back again — Friday, Oct. 24, to ExtraMile Arena — with special guest Charles Wesley Godwin.
And although it’s difficult to eliminate resale price-hiking entirely, the singer-guitarist continues to go, well, the extra mile.
Tickets to Church’s show will become available to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. May 9 at Ticketmaster. Tickets will start at $59 plus taxes and fees.
But here’s the cool part: “Having consistently taken industry-leading precautions to protect fans from scalpers,” a tour press release explains, “Church is reserving all pit tickets on the Free the Machine Tour for premium Church Choir members to ensure his most passionate and loyal fans are closest to the stage. Premium Church Choir members will receive request instructions via email. Pit tickets will be will-call only to deter resale (except where prohibited by state law).“
Idaho has some odd laws. But that apparently ain’t one. The tour’s publicist confirmed to me that Boise pit tickets will be will call-only.
You hear that, scalpers? The person who buys the tickets will have to physically pick up the tickets.
Granted, nothing is free. Joining the Church Choir costs $49 annually. But it comes with other perks, too, and it sure beats getting hosed for hundreds of bucks by a ticket reseller.
“As always,” the press release says, “premium members of the Church Choir will have early access to tickets through the Church Choir presale beginning Monday, May 5, at 10 a.m. local time. Premium members should check their email for presale details and can log in at EricChurch.com or the official Eric Church app to access their unique codes. A registration presale via Seated, available to non-premium Church Choir members and the general public, kicks off Tuesday, May 6, at 10 a.m. local time. To register, please visit EricChurch.com and sign up for your desired date.”
In a video made for Church Choir members, Church promised a tour not to miss: “From front to back, these shows will be different than anything you’ve ever seen or heard from us before,” he said. “I cannot wait to see you on the road for this tour.”
Church has a new album, “Evangeline vs. The Machine,” hitting stores Friday.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM.