Eric Church delivered a heartfelt keynote address and special performance during UNC-Chapel Hill’s Spring Commencement ceremony on Saturday.

The devoted Tar Heel fan and North Carolina native took the stage at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, where he used the six strings of his guitar as a powerful metaphor to reflect on faith, family, perseverance, resilience, and community. Throughout the speech, Church shared personal wisdom and encouragement with graduates before ending the memorable moment with a performance of “Carolina.”

Upon taking the stage, Church admitted he spent a great deal of time trying to write the perfect commencement speech, only to scrap several versions along the way. Eventually, he decided to lean into what comes naturally to him, telling a story through music.

In true Eric Church fashion, he built his speech around the six strings of a guitar, using each one to symbolize an important pillar of life.

“Six strings. When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold. Carry a broken person through the worst night of their life or make a room full of strangers fee for three minutes like they’ve known each other forever. But if even one is off, the whole chord unravels. Not gradually, not politely. The moment you strike it, you know I believe your life runs on this principle and I’m going to break it down for you right now and tell you about your strings,” he began.

As the speech continued, Church used each string as a lesson, offering advice and insight about navigating life’s challenges and staying grounded through every season.

Toward the end of the address, he delivered an especially emotional message to the graduating class.

“Six strings. Six strings of life and willingness to keep them in tune. Six principles, six pillars. When all six are in tune with each other, the chord your life makes is full and resonant and truth. All six will drift, not one or two, all six in their own time, in their own season. Your faith will go quiet when you need it loud. Your family will get complicated in a way only the people who love you most can complicate things. You will go through hard seasons with your spouse. Your ambition will hollow out and your resilience will wear thin. Your community will start to feel like an obligation and your world will try to sand down the edges of exactly who you are. This is not failure. This is not weakness. It’s the inevitable universal experience of living in an imperfect world that doesn’t stop to let us tune up.”

Church then encouraged graduates to trust themselves and the path ahead of them.

“Trust what your heart hears and is telling you about your song. So graduates, now I encourage you to take your six strings, make it something worth hearing and play your song as I leave you with mine.”

He concluded the ceremony appearance with a performance of his beloved song “Carolina.”

UNC-Chapel Hill’s Spring Commencement ceremony celebrated 4,453 undergraduate students, along with 1,608 master’s degree recipients and 981 doctoral graduates.