Zach Bryan’s ascent to stardom is unstoppable. Neither snow nor rain nor lingering pain from a May 12 vehicle accident he and girlfriend/Barstool Sports personality Brianna Chickenfry (LaPaglia) experienced could have kept him from playing two-night stands in Arkansas and his home state of Oklahoma later that week. The follow-up to his chart-topping self-titled album is being prepared for streaming, and he’s won his first Grammy.
Bryan is arguably the biggest country star to have emerged this decade. Although his debut, DeAnn, was released in August 2019, it wasn’t until the success of his 2022 triple-album American Heartbreak that the prolific singer-songwriter caught the attention of the public at large. Now he’s segueing from household name to singer-songwriter institution, with a personal mythology and a clear conduit from observation to composition.
The scion of a family of U.S. Navy careerists, Bryan went to high school with most of the musicians playing in his band today. On a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast he related how guitarist Graham Bright carried him when he broke both wrists during an ill-fated attempt at rope swinging into a river.
Bryan’s apparent accident-prone nature may be due to his mind’s tendency to graze in cerebral pastures inhabited by characters in relationship crises or kicking back in the bar with buddies. Bryan harvests phrases, riffs and hooks like tall grass that grows incessantly.
Social media became a place for him to post songs as he served a seven-year hitch as a sailor. He recorded DeAnn at a short-term vacation rental soundproofed with mattresses in Jacksonville, where concrete-block housing at nearby Naval Station Mayport is not kind to condenser microphones.
DeAnn, titled in tribute to his mother who passed in 2016, spawned current concert chestnut “God Speed” and built momentum for 2020’s Elisabeth. Bryan plays “Heading South” frequently from the latter and has been closing shows with “Revival,” but, as of late, he’s been drawing setlists from his most recent material. American Heartbreak may be the most important triple album since The Clash’s Sandinista! with Bryan demonstrating an industriousness that will likely endure far longer that Joe Strummer’s arc of inspiration did.
Unlike Strummer, he has a good voice. It’s mellow and expressive, reminiscent at times of Chris Martin’s, Damien Rice’s or Jason Isbell’s. His songwriter process is indicated in the DIY videos he continues to post to social media. American Heartbreak is chock-full of great compositions, whether his own (“Something in the Orange,” “Oklahoma City”) or American standard (a reimagining of “You Are My Sunshine”).
Last year’s self-titled album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s top albums chart and contains the Grammy-winning duet with Kacey Musgraves “I Remember Everything.” Bryan debuted the title track from his next album, The Great American Bar Scene, at a March concert in Chicago before he rolled his ride and risked becoming the next Jeff Buckley instead of the next Bruce Springsteen. Hopefully he’ll take it as sign that his fans need him to play it safe to ensure a long songwriting future.
T-Mobile Arena. 7 p.m. June 7-8, starting at $75 plus tax and fee. axs.com
Click here for your free subscription to the weekly digital edition of Las Vegas Magazine, your guide to everything to do, hear, see and experience in Southern Nevada. In addition to the latest edition emailed to every week, you’ll find plenty of great, money-saving offers from some of the most exciting attractions, restaurants, properties and more! And Las Vegas Magazine is full of informative content such as restaurants to visit, cocktails to sip and attractions to enjoy.
