Eric Church kicked off his Blood Sweat & Beers tour Sept. 13 at the Mullins Center in Amherst. The crowd that showed up was decked out in plaid, t-shirts, red white and blue, and denim ready for a party with country music’s bada–.

Church isn’t a newcomer to the Mullins Center as he has previously opened there for fellow country crooner Jason Aldean. This time though he was headlining and had Kip Moore and Justin Moore opening for him.

Kip Moore started off the night to a slowly growing crowd singing melodies with his deep country rasp. Both of Kip’s chart-topping singles Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck and Beer Money were included in Kip’s high energy high quality performance that had every member of the audience on their feet. When Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck  every audience member simultaneously swayed and sang along.

Next up was well-known backwoods boy Justin Moore. He was sporting plaid shirt and had a good ole cowboy hat perched upon his head. Justin was the perfect example of a homegrown country boy. From his deep twang to his song Guns Justin brought a little redneck to Massachusetts.

Justin also rocked the crowd with his wit and personality. He sang his hit singles If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away, Bait A Hook, Small Town USA, and Backwoods along with crowd pleasers I Could Kick Your A** and If You Don’t Like My Twang.

Next up was the main man himself, Eric Church. It was no surprise when Church stepped onstage donning his trademark sunglasses and baseball cap. He was ready for a party and you could see the excitement and energy on his face as he moved around stage strumming his guitar and belting out his lyrics.

Every audience member was on their feet during Church’s performance singing along to everything from Country Music Jesus to Sinners Like Me and Smoke a Little Smoke.

What really brought Church’s performance over the top though was something you don’t usually see at a country concert- a show. Church added everything from banner changes to fire, to sparks, and gunshot bangs to enhance the performance put on. When he sang “My head Monday morning, that alarm clock sings,/It goes bang bang bang” from Drink in my Hand you could hear gunshot bangs ringing throughout the center.

Church came back with the crowd pleaser Springsteen that fans had been waiting for all night, it was even better with a little Born to Run mixed in.

All in all Kip and Justin rocked the Mullins Center and Eric Church, the understated under-the-radar country bad boy, proved why he’s nominated for five CMAs.