After months of “the album’s on the way” and “the album is coming soon,” Grammy-winner, Zach Bryan, is back with his fifth studio record, The Great American Bar Scene.
The album marks his third major label release and is jam-packed with stellar features ranging from indie country darlings, John Moreland and Noeline Hofmann to certified rock legends, Bruce Springsteen and John Mayer.
With over 32 million monthly listeners on Spotify, one of the most dedicated fanbases outside of Taylor Swift and an undeniable appeal that is bringing even the most country music-hesitant listeners into the genre, Bryan is once again proving here why he is one of the most important artists not only in the country genre but in all of music.
In an Instagram post last night, Bryan penned a lengthy preface to The Great American Bar Scene and noted the all the moments and memories that lead to the albums release.
The posts reads: “The making of this album tested me and everyone close to me. It drove me to my ends and my beginnings. I saw the lights of Paris after saying I would for ten years, rode the coast of Australia with a beautiful woman, was locked in a pub until 7 am in Ireland, walked my favorite street in New York over a hundred times, thought I was going to bleed out in a field in Tennessee, spent a few hours in handcuffs, hugged my grandma more than a few times, layed in the grass in my mother’s hometown, sang State Trooper in a bar South of Boston and wrote something that I think is important.”
“I wrote and produced all of these with the of help of some truly great friends. I finally feel like I’s making music again. If you don’t like it I assume it’s not intended for you. Grab your beers through tears & fears, the Great American Bar Scene.“
Similar to his 2023 self-titled release, The Great American Bar Scene is not a mammoth 34-track record like American Heartbreak, instead including 18 songs and one poem. Along with the aforementioned stellar collaborations with the likes of Springsteen, Mayer, Hoffman and Mooreland, the LP contains a plethora of classics in the making such as “American Nights,” “Oak Island” and “28,” which has been played throughout Bryan’s current tour.
With some fans and independent country enthusiasts seemingly getting hesitant about Bryan’s massive popularity, it seems that Bryan is once again reinventing himself with the release of The Great American Bar Scene. There are clear inspirations from the rock legends featured on the record, Springsteen and Mayer in particular, but you’re still getting those country roots that connect with longtime fans on tracks such as the aforementioned “American Nights” and “Memphis; The Blues.”
As Bryan himself said, this album isn’t for everyone, and that is perfectly fine. If listeners got three American Heartbreaks in a row, it would become tiring. While, of course, there are similar chord progressions, themes and imagery present throughout The Great American Bar Scene, there’s enough changeups thrown here to make the album a worthy release that once again proves why Bryan appeals to so many different audiences.
Time will only tell where the record will rank in the “I Remember Everything” singer’s discography, but I will tell you one thing: sit back, relax, pop open a Bud heavy and enjoy The Great American Bar Scene on this great, American holiday.
Listen to Pink Skies, Sandpaper (feat. Bruce Springsteen) and Better Days (feat. John Mayer) here: