Eric Church announces free show for fans after canceling concert for UNC-Duke game

Eric Church will play a free concert in Texas as a thank you to his San Antonio fans after he abruptly canceled an upcoming show there this weekend so he could attend the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament instead.

Church, 44, announced the free show — which is scheduled for early September — in a tweet Friday afternoon, writing, "Thank you San Antonio for letting me take my family to this game."

"It took a minute to figure out how and when I could properly express my thanks," he wrote. "I will be coming to Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, TX on Friday, September 2, 2022 for a ONE of a kind FREE show for those of you who bought tickets and were planning to attend our cancelled San Antonio show."

The country singer added that more details about the free concert would be forthcoming.

Church's angry fans took to social media on Tuesday to post screenshots of an email they received from Ticketmaster from the "Record Year" singer, announcing that he was refunding tickets for his April 2 tour date at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, so he could instead watch the University of North Carolina men’s basketball team face off against rival Duke University.

“As a lifelong Carolina basketball fan, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke battle over the years but to have them matchup for the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament is any sports enthusiast’s dream,” the email said, according to multiple screenshots online.

Church reportedly added in the email that he knew asking fans to forgo the concert was the “most selfish” thing he's ever asked of them.

At least one other country music star weighed in this week on Church's decision to ditch a concert date to attend a basketball game.

During an interview with E! News’ Daily Pop, Jason Aldean — who collaborated with the singer on the 2012 song “The Only Way I Know" and referred to him as a "friend" — criticized Church for disappointing fans.

"I don’t know that I could cancel a show to make it to a game,” said Aldean. “I feel like people buying a ticket to come see your show, you kind of have to hold up your end of the deal on that."

He added, “I know Eric’s a huge basketball — Carolina — fan and I don’t want to dive into that too much, but I don’t think I would feel good if I did that, so I don’t know if I could pull it off."