Someone asked Eric Church if he'd take the vaccine for COVID-19 right now, and he didn't leave any room for interpretation.

Speaking with the Los Angeles Times, Church was asked if he thinks the festival dates he has booked for 2021 will happen. "I wish we were in a place right now where we could use concerts to vaccinate people," he says. "There's so much anti-vax s--t that goes around, but I'm seeing less of that now."

And then:

"Somebody asked me if I'd take the vaccine," Church continues. "I said I'd take it in the eyeball to go strap on a guitar."

Older country stars including Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn have recently shared pictures of themselves getting the vaccine, though in the arm, as recommended. Dolly Parton, who donated $1 million to COVID-19 research, has said she's waiting for hers, if only to not give the impression that she's getting special treatment, although she's eligible in Tennessee.

Few have spoken about the COVID-19 vaccine with the same kind of passion as Church, but that's on brand for him. He's equally passionate about his live shows and upcoming Heart & Soul trilogy of albums.

But back to that original question.

Church says he's optimistic about fall being a time when it might be okay to play for large audiences once again. As a whole, the festival and touring industry has all but given up on spring and summer; most major festivals originally scheduled through May have been moved to fall, or completely canceled.

Maren Morris and, more recently, Kane Brown, are two artists who have pushed early 2021 tours to later in the year (Brown) or outright canceled them (Morris). Right now, Chris Stapleton has the next tour start date, with shows slated for April, and Kenny Chesney and Luke Bryan have tours slated for May.

Officially, the next date on Eric Church's touring calendar is a festival show in South Carolina on June 11.

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