By Adam Lucas

 

On one of the biggest nights of Eric Church’s life, it came back to a guitar. 

 

Of course it did.

                  

It couldn’t be anything else, could it? He spent months pondering how he might address the University of North Carolina’s graduating class of 2026. It was a big assignment.

                  

Church has played bigger stages, of course. He’s played to bigger crowds. But this one had personal meaning to him. This was at a place that’s been sacred to him for his entire life, in front of his family and friends and Tar Heels everywhere. 

                  

So when it’s that meaningful, what do you do? You return to what you know. That’s why when he was on a spring break skiing trip with his family, a group discussion about his commencement topic landed on utilizing his guitar.

                  

That’s when the speech began to take shape. 

                  

Six strings, six lessons. 

                  

The Low E: Faith, your foundation.

                  

The A String: Family. “It is not a holiday string,” Church said. “It’s an every-single-day string. Protect it.”

                  

The D String: Choosing the right spouse/partner. The heart of the instrument. 

                  

The G String (the audience, being largely made up of college students, had to chuckle when he said it): Ambition, resilience and vision.

                  

The B String: Community. “Your generation faces a temptation to perform for everyone and belong to no one,” he said. “Learn the actual names—not usernames—of the people around you.”

                  

The High E: The one that carries the melody. “There is a sound only you can make,” he said. “The world does not need another cover song. It needs an original.”

                  

He’s given that same advice about the importance of being an original to numerous other artists and wannabe artists in recent years. There’s just something different—especially for him—about doing it inside Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

                  

He finished with an acoustic rendition of “Carolina,” tweaking one of the verses to include, “I’d love to see my mama/She’s in Kenan Stadium tonight/To hear me talk to the ’26 Tar Heels about love and life.”

                  

And as he sang, his mom, Rita, raised both her hands to the sky, one more proud mom on Mother’s Day weekend in a stadium full of proud mothers. 

                  

It’s one thing to play a show for people who have spent their hard-earned money to attend a show with the goal of experiencing one of their best nights of the year watching him. It’s something else to play a show for people who may be having one of the biggest nights of their lives. 

                  

On graduation day, everything is very scripted. Wear this robe. Stand here. Don’t cheer there. Turn your tassel when we say so but not a second before.

                  

Many times, graduates endure it as much as they enjoy it. Not this time. This time, as Church played “Carolina,” you looked into the crowd and saw every student spontaneously standing up and swaying to the music, arms around each other. They were laughing and crying and hugging and, well, they were having that moment you know so well from the Eric Church shows you’ve attended. 

                  

At certain tour stops, it might take Church three hours to reach an audience. On this particular Saturday night, he did it in 15 minutes.

                  

Quick: who spoke at your graduation?

                  

While you’re reaching around in the corners of your mind for the answer, realize that no one in attendance Saturday night will ever forget the way Church used his guitar to talk to them about faith, family, love and more. 

                  

It was a big night for them. And don’t forget that it was a big night for him, too.

                  

At dinner this weekend, he was considering his status as a new recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of North Carolina. He grinned as his friends and family pondered the question: what should we call you now?

                  

Dr. Eric, perhaps? Maybe Dr. Church?

                  

“I’ve thought about it,” he said. “And I think I prefer Dr. Chief.” 

 

 

Watch the full commencement speech and performance of "Carolina" here.