A dream come true for alt. country fans.
There’s no denying that the independent and alternative country scene has gotten jam-packed over the past decade. Whether it’s giants such as Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson and Turnpike Troubadours becoming torchbearers for the genre or budding talent such as Colby Acuff and Drayton Farley, it’s been harder than ever before to truly keep track of who’s who in the genre.
Of course, that’s not even mentioning the laundry list of stellar artists across a plethora of different subgenres. With names like Charles Wesley Godwin, Sierra Ferrell, Colter Wall, Charley Crockett, Cody Jinks, Wyatt Flores, Ian Noe, Gabe Lee, Maggie Antone, Dylan Gossett, Kaitlin Butts, John Moreland, Noeline Hofmann and many, many more populating the scene, you truly never have to look far to find some of the finest artists we’ve seen over the past few decades in country music.
While it’s become harder and harder to truly point to who is the best and subsequently the most influential, you can argue that there are two particular acts that I personally regard as the most important for radically different reasons. These two are Turnpike Troubadours and Zach Bryan, and it looks like we’re finally getting a collaboration between the two very soon.
Of course, it’s truly hard to understate Turnpike’s impact on the alternative scene over the past 15 years. Being the quintessential country band (in my opinion), the Oklahoma six-piece has influenced nearly every major artist we’ve seen debut in the 2020s, ranging from Bryan, Flores, Godwin, Acuff, Gossett, Butts and more. Of course, this doesn’t even include the influences they’ve had on fellow bands such as Flatland Cavalry, 49 Winchester, Dexter & the Moonrocks and Shane Smith & the Saints.
For Bryan, it’s hard to imagine a more fascinating artist in today’s country music landscape than him. 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 highest-attended concert in U.S. history when he performed to a crowd of 112,408 at Michigan Stadium.
Though there’s no doubt that artists such as Childers, Simpson, Jinks and Turnpike were the forefathers of the current independent and alternative country renaissance we’ve currently been experiencing over the better half of a decade, there’s no denying that Bryan was the one who blew the door off the hinges, so to speak.
Back to the collab, taking to Instagram last night, Turnpike shared photos of frontman Evan Felker and Bryan together in the studio. Backed by Bryan’s 2023 single, “East Side of Sorrow,” which famously references the Red Dirt band’s improbable reunion the same year, they simply captioned the post:
“ZB & TT 👀”
Given their history together, which includes Bryan’s aforementioned “East Side of Sorrow,” other references to the band on unreleased tracks like “Felker” and “Sunday Afternoon” and the 30-year-old singer/songwriter employing Turnpike on a plethora of shows over the past three years, it simply felt like a matter of time until the two giants officially collaborated on a song.
Unsurprisingly, fans of both artists (myself included) simply lost their minds in the comment section upon the reveal last night. From some speculating that Bryan is working on a collaborative album due to his recent studio session with alt. pop star, Lana Del Ray, to others calling the collab the greatest day of their life, the comments were an absolute gold mine.
“I’m gonna pass out I’m gonna pass out”
“I’m losing my sh*t. this is a generation run by ZB this is an amazing time to be a fan of both bands.”
“Yo this generational run that TT is on right now will be talked about forever”
“My two top Spotify artists coming together?! I cannot believe this!!!”
“That’s it I’m done. I’ve entered heaven.”
“I think that will go down as the greatest day of my life”
“Been waiting years for this”
As of now, the collaboration has no additional info surrounding it or a release date, but chances are we’ll get an official confirmation on it before the end of the year.
Before you go, watch Bryan team up with Turnpike for a performance of “The Birdhunters” here:
Zach Bryan Tour Dates
September 18 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Kings of Leon, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose
September 19 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Alabama Shakes, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose
September 21 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose
September 22 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose
October 2 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose
October 3 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose
October 10 – Auburn, Alabama – Jordan-Hare Stadium – Gregory Alan Iskov & Gabriella Rose
