Hands in the air for some emotional catharsis … Zach Bryan plays at Anfield stadium. Photograph: Nikki Dyer/Liverpool FC
Zach Bryan review – colossal US country star converts the UK to his inclusive take on the rodeo
Anfield stadium, Liverpool
Bryan challenges country’s macho messaging in emotional songs of breakups, addiction and pain, lapped up by a charmed stadium-filled fanbase
Zach Bryan knows how to endear himself to an English crowd. The country superstar casually strolls on stage with his guitar in an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt while his band plays Come Together, greeted by tens of thousands ready to sing back every word in between sips of beer and two-steps.
Early on in the show, Bryan pauses to say: “I hope you know whoever you are, we accept you here,” before launching into his debut single, God Speed. The sentiment captures how his With Heaven on Tour proposes a more inclusive, expansive take on how country music sounds and looks: Bryan invites everyone to the rodeo, which makes him stand out in a genre that can feel hostile to outsiders. This helps explain how, in seven years, the 30-year-old Oklahoman has gone from being a US navy officer who self-released his debut album to one of country music’s biggest names, now with six studio albums under his belt – and who has helped the genre to become a stadium-filling, festival-spawning phenomenon in the once-resistant UK.
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Bryan commands the stage with Springsteen-like vocals, earnest intensity and songs that tell stories of raw emotion, self-doubt and addiction. Aside from a few lulls, the show is filled with barnstorming bangers that keep the crowd screaming – like opener Overtime, 2022’s Motorcycle Drive By, and the surging Say Why, where Bryan jams with his 20-strong backing band and drops mentions of Liverpool into his lyrics at every opportunity. But the resonance of Bryan’s musicality and songwriting really shines in the softer, folksier moments. Most of the band depart for Pink Skies, giving Bryan the opportunity to deftly play both guitar and harmonica, then the acoustic strums of Oklahoma Smokeshow are momentarily drowned out the first time the crowd sings: “He’s an asshole from back home.” The breakup song Something in the Orange offers a moment of emotional catharsis, and speaks to his brand of wholesome masculinity: many men around me have tears in their eyes.
A rousing 15-minute encore of 2020’s Revival sends beer everywhere. Not content with just walking off stage, Bryan jumps down to the barriers with his guitar and hands it over to a lucky fan, with everyone else in the palm of his hand. Zach Bryan’s With Heaven on Tour continues in the UK and Ireland until 24 June
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