An unlikely duo that changed his mind.
It’s hard to imagine a more fascinating artist in today’s country music landscape than Zach Bryan. In a six-year span, the “Something in the Orange” singer has gone from recording his debut album, DeAnn, in a Florida Airbnb and scoring viral hits online to selling his publishing catalog for a staggering $350 million and, most notably, setting the record for the highest-attended concert in U.S. history when he performed to a crowd of 112,408 at Michigan Stadium.
When diving into Bryan’s artistry, there’s undeniably so much to discuss. Of course, you can talk about all the inherent drama from past relationships that have been pushed to the top of headlines, the public beefs he’s had with fellow artists and the political statements he’s made over the years. With that being said, however, when it’s all said and done, it’s become more than apparent that the Oklahoma native has become one of the most prolific songwriters we’ve seen in the current generation.
More importantly, he’s risen to the top of the genre without the traditional Nashville backing that so many of the biggest stars throughout history have had. While, of course, he’s still backed by a major label nowadays with Warner Records, there has never been a point in his career where he embraced Music City — something that is nearly unheard of for a country artist as popular as Bryan.
In fact, he’s outright rejected the city on multiple occasions. On 2022’s American Heartbreak, he took aim at the current state of pop country on “If She Wants a Cowboy,” creating a satirical look at the homogeneity on country radio and claiming he’d “Nashville the best” while using an autotuned voice filter. Even more notably, on 2024’s The Great American Bar Scene, he’d cast off Music City outright on “Like Ida.” Here, he’d claim that the city “ain’t his scene.”
“When you make it to Nashville, you can tell by one hat tiltThat, that sh*t just ain’t my scene”
Recently, however, Bryan has been focusing on slowing down, reflecting on himself and maturing as he enters his thirties. During a lengthy, beautiful two-hour conversation with Matthew McConaughey, which was also released on YouTube in tandem with the EP, Bryan would open up about his misguided anger towards Nashville and what made him come around to moving near there.
Here, he’d reveal that a lot of the hate he had for the city came from the chip on his shoulder — something that he’s had his entire life. In particular, the time spent recording music in New York on projects like American Heartbreak and The Great American Bar Scene made him develop a sense of superiority.
Additionally, he’d point out one of the biggest criticisms of modern country today, explaining that he’s always been “disgusted” by the large number of co-writers on every hit song on the radio and the trap-heavy production from artists like Morgan Wallen, Shaboozey and more.
“I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder my entire life. I’ve always thought whether that was like anger or grief…I’ve always been f***ing so mad at something. I’m not really sure why. But when I started making music in New York and recording music in New York, I thought I was a part of this tribe. We’re doing things different.
And I really enjoyed that for a while. And I thought that I was onto something, because you hear some of these songs, and you’re like, that was written by how many people? What does that even mean? Why is that popular? And then you listen to it, and it’s got like a trap beat on it, or has something catchy to it, or has a nice guitar line, which 20 people in a studio came up with synthetically, and they’re like, this will be great for the masses, and I always was disgusted by that because I’ve always been like a [Townes] Van Zandt fan or a [Blaze] Foley fan.”
Bryan would then reveal, shockingly, that two of the most important artists who helped him gain a better perspective on Nashville were his friend and mentor, Jason Isbell, and Morgan Wallen. While the conversations had with Isbell are nothing out of the ordinary, especially given their recent team-up on Bryan’s “Belting Bronco” series on YouTube and the simple fact Bryan has always pointed to the “Cover Me Up” singer as one of his biggest inspirations, the Wallen revelation is a bit shocking — to say the least.
“I used to get texts from people in Nashville that I was friends with that were like, ‘Man, you’re a purist’, as in a songwriting purist, and I was like, ‘What the f*** does that even mean?’ Like, shouldn’t all songwriters be purists? And like, and I don’t mean to sound pretentious, I really mean that. Shouldn’t we all be writing our own feelings?
But then I talk to Jason Isbell and I talk to [Morgan] Wallen sometimes, and I talk to all these people, and I realize the chip was mine on my shoulder.”
In particular, Bryan would point to the past month as what really sold him on Music City. As he recalls, while recording his recent collaboration on his new EP, Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs, with Lana Del Rey, “Lies,” he received a text from Kings of Leon’s Caleb Followill to perform with him that night.
In case that wasn’t enough, the next day, Turnpike Troubadours’ Evan Felker came down to Nashville to record “Plainsman” with him. After the Felker collab, which was nothing short of a dream come true for the long-time Turnpike fan, he’d then see another one of his favorite artists, Ben Howard, perform at the Ryman.
The four back-to-back collaborations and events really made the “I Remember Everything” reflect on the beauty of Nashville. Because of this, it made him reflect and ask himself, “What gives me the right to say what a place is?”
“This really sold me. I was recording my EP recently, and I was recording this song called ‘Lies’ with Lana Del Rey. We’re sitting in this studio on Music Row in Nashville, which I already felt like a fraud for doing…I felt like a liar because my whole life I’d been like, ‘Man, this city… No one knows nothing.’ You know, like a pompous a**hole.
And then I was sitting there at Easy Eye in Nashville, and I was sitting there with Lana Del Rey, Caleb Followill from Kings of Leon texts me while I’m there with Lana, and he goes, ‘Hey, we’re playing at the Basement East tonight. You want to come perform with us?’ And I looked at my phone, with one of my idols sitting in front of me, one of my idols on my phone, and I was like, ‘Well, in no other city could this happen’.
The next day, Evan Felker, who’s also on the EP, shows up and records a song with me. And two days after that, Ben Howard was playing at the Ryman in Nashville. And these are all musicians I respect and love and applaud every day. I listen to these people, and I was like, ‘What gives me the right? What gives me the right to say what a place is?’”
Bryan would wrap up by crediting his wife, Samantha, and his newfound sobriety as two of the biggest factors in his perspective shift on Nashville and life in general. In particular, he’d point to quitting drinking giving him a clearer perspective on the city, noting that everyone, like him, is simply just trying to make beautiful art.
“I think quitting drinking helped me a lot with it, but I also think just, like, taking a deep breath and realizing that the world isn’t after you. And these people in Nashville, just like the people in New York, just like people in L.A., they’re just trying to make music so people enjoy it, and they’re trying to put food on the table. They’re trying to make beautiful art, and I’m no different. I’m trying to do the same thing, and like, we’re all a part of this experience together.”
You can watch the whole conversation with McConaughey here:
Zach Bryan 2027 Tour Dates
April 28 — Minneapolis, MN — U.S. Bank Stadium
May 1 — Indianapolis, IN — Lucas Oil Stadium
May 4 — Green Bay, WI — Lambeau Field
May 8 — Chicago, IL — Soldier Field
May 14 — East Rutherford, NJ — Metlife Stadium
May 15 — East Rutherford, NJ — Metlife Stadium
May 18 — Baltimore, MD — M&T Bank Stadium
May 14 — East Rutherford, NJ — Metlife Stadium
May 22 — Nashville, TN — Nissan Stadium
May 25 — Philadelphia, PA — Lincoln Financial Stadium
May 29 — Atlanta, GA — Mercedes-Benz Stadium
June 2 — Buffalo, NY– Highmark Stadium
July 16 — Las Vegas, NV– Allegiant Stadium
July 20 — Los Angeles, CA– SoFi Stadium
July 24 — Seattle, Washington– Lumen Field
July 28 — Vancouver, BC– BC Place
August 1 — Edmonton, AB — Commonwealth Stadium
August 6 — Boise, ID — Albertsons Stadium
December 3 — Melbourne, VIC — Marvel Stadium
December 4 — Melbourne, VIC — Marvel Stadium
December 10 — Sydney, NSW — Accor Stadium
December 11 — Sydney, NSW — Accor Stadium
December 17 — Brisbane, QLD — Suncorp Stadium
December 18 — Brisbane, QLD — Suncorp Stadium
