CHURCH MUSIC

Previously only members of Eric Church’s “Church Choir” fan club were able to purchase the album titled & (part of his 2021 three-album Heart & Soul project), but it’s now getting a wide release (Aug. 19 on CD, vinyl and digital platforms). It was recorded over 28 days in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina—in a recording studio housed in a restaurant—not far from where Church, 45, grew up in the town of Granite Falls. “I am the hardest critic [when it comes to] making sure every song deserves to be on the record,” says Church, who feels the new release deserves to be heard by as many people as possible. “I started going, ‘Wait ’til the world finds out about this.’”