These two videos started it all, and I'm over the moon that I decided to follow Zach immediately after watching his first video go viral on Twitter. Since he's tweeted these two videos, he's continued post clips on Twitter to the point where he's reached nearly 36,000 followers, 26,000 Instagram followers, nearly 200,000 monthly listeners on Spotify since he released his first album at the end of August and 65,400 TikTok followers since he posted his first video on JANUARY THIRD-What a weird fucking app.
Don't get me wrong, Zach is an incredibly talented musician and songwriter, and for my money, is writing the best country music in the world right now. Heartfelt lyrics that tell a story, it'd be a shame if the rest of country music would start taking notes from Zach. If you love powerful songwriting and an acoustic guitar, take the time out of your day and listened to Zach's debut album, DeAnn. And even if you don't, you still should.
The album is named after Zach's mother, who unfortunately passed away, but buddy let me tell ya, she'd be incredibly proud of you for this one. Will this album ever make it onto mainstream radio? Most likely not unfortunately, because people would rather listen to Luke Bryan sing the same three notes over and over again. Acoustic from top to bottom, this sum bitch should be added to whatever playlist you listen to the most. The best way for me to describe Zach's music is that it is the embodiment of a 4 AM night with your best friends where you're sitting around, absolutely hammered talking about life and shooting the shit. Reminiscing about the past and preparing for the future, the absolute best kinds of nights. And this album pairs perfectly with it because the lyrics, well, they make you think.
My favorite part about Zach is that he's about humble as they fucking come. An active member of the United States Navy, he had no intentions of going viral with his music. He had been tweeting shit out for his friends and family for awhile, but as we know now, things change. Bryan recorded DeAnn in an Air BnB with his friends while they all took leave, and sound proofed the walls with mattresses- all because his fans wanted his music available on streaming services. Even more impressive is that he's using his leave to play small shows across the country, taking the time to meet his fans, and does his best to interact with his rabid following as much as he possibly can.
And to make things even better, he dropped this bomb last night
Can't. fucking. wait.
Pretty rapidly, Bryan is becoming more mainstream, evident by his single- "Heading South" being the second most Texas Country song streamed of last week.
Ahead of some pretty unreal performers if you ask me- not too bad for a guy who's doing this part time.
Check out Heading South (my favorite song of his) and his new song, Leaving. This guy has literally led some of my friends (who despise country music) to listen to not only Zach regularly, but other stars like Tyler Childers, Cody Jinks and Sturgill Simpson with some regularity because THIS is what country music is. Maybe one day, the tide will turn, but for now, follow the fuck out of this guy.
Checking Out
-The Inn Keeper
Thanks for listening and writing this.