Why Does Eric Church Always Wear Sunglasses When Performing?

Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan will be singing the National Anthem together at the Super Bowl this year. Fans of the country star are wondering whether Church will appear without or without his signature sunglasses. Curious about why Eric Church always seems to be wearing shades? There’s a pretty good reason you rarely see this star without sunglasses. Here’s the deal.

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Eric Church’s Eyes Are More Comfortable In Shades

In the interview above, Church explains that he wears contacts, and the stage lights would “bake” his eyes while performing. Being 6’3″, stage lights were often in his field of vision while performing, which gave him dry eyes. Sounds Like Nashville reports that Church even experienced his lenses popping out of his eyes, they were so dry.

The sunglasses are an easy solution to ensure he could perform more comfortably. According to Wide Open Country, Eric Church started performing while he was still in high school. The signature shades came later in his artistic development.

The American Optometric Association, many contact lens wearers struggle to find a lens that fits them well. According to the AOA, this is because “different contact lenses often are made from different materials and in different sizes, some of which can be comfortable and healthy for you to wear, while others can lead to discomfort and even eye health problems.”

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Eric Church Didn’t Always Wear Sunglasses

It took Eric Church a little while to figure out that sunglasses would help him perform more comfortably.

“Early on in Church’s career, from 2006 until about 2009, you could see his eyes on his album covers and in his videos,” CMT‘s Alison Bonaguro notes. “But by the time ‘Smoke a Little Smoke’ came around, Church had put his sunglasses on for good.”

These days, however, it’s uncommon to see Church without his signature shades. And if you’ve wondered exactly which shades they are, they are aviator sunglasses, a style often worn by pilots and popularized by Ray-Ban.

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You Can Buy Eric Church Sunglasses

Church performs “Through My Ray-Bans” in the video above.

For $20, you can get your own official sunglasses from the Eric Church website. While Church is obviously famous for donning this style of sunglasses, fans of his concerts also know that Church gets a special nickname once the glasses go on.

Sounds Like Nashville reports that Church and his band have a good laugh about the stage personality that develops when the shades go on.

“The band starting joking with me, when I put the hat and sunglasses on, they go ‘Alright, its Chief time, Chief’s here,'” Church told the outlet. “But I laughed about it, it was a joke.”

Church’s sunglasses are so much a part of his look, he actually makes headlines when he appears without them. Taste of Country reported on Church’s sunglass-less performance of ‘Like Jesus Does’ at the 2013 ACM Awards. Headlines also get made when Church changes the style of his sunglasses, such as when he was spotted wearing Wayfarers instead of Aviators by One Country.

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Eric Church Did Have a Recent Health Scare

Fans often wonder if there is a medical reason that Church wears shades. Fans of the singer know that Church has had some recent health problems, but no serious ocular health problems have been reported. When it comes to underlying health causes for his sunglasses, the worst medical issue going on is dry eyes, which are a common complaint among contact lens wearers.

However, back in 2018, People reported that Church was dealing with a blood clot in his chest, something he kept secret from fans for about a year.

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