Zach Bryan came to the attention from just uploading videos of him singing during his service in the U.S Navy. He did all of this on his own and not with any help from label companies. After serving for eight years, Zach was honorably discharged in November 2021 to do music full-time.
Zach Bryan was born in Okinawa, Japan. His parents were stationed there as part of a deployment with the U.S. Navy. His parents got a divorce when he was around the age of 12. His father got full custody of Zach. Zach was still very close to his mother but she unfortunately battled alcohol abuse and passed away in 2016.
When Zach was in high school he would play the guitar here and there but never actually wanted it to be his career.
“When I was 14, we started making these dumb songs up, me and my buddies sitting around, and I just never really expected to be a musician, ever,” he told The Oklahoman. “But I always wanted to write songs. That’s what I wanted to do: I wanted to be a songwriter.”
After High School Zach was determined to continue his family legacy of being in the U.S Navy his parents, grandfather, uncles, and great-grandfather had all served. He ended up enlisting when he was 17.
In his free time he posted clips of his music online in 2015 and, in 2019, recorded his first album called DeAnn which was his mothers middle name. A year later in 2020, he released another album, Elisabeth. Zach never confirmed that this album was named after his ex wife, but it is believed because her full name is Elisabeth Rose Madden.
Zach was named the Academy of Country music’s 2022 New male artist of the year. With this momentum, Bryan released a self-titled and self-produced country-rock album in August 2023 that immediately went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts. The Country Music Association nominated Zach for the New Artist of the Year at the 2023 CMAs.
Soon after, Bryan received an even bigger honor with three nominations for the 2024 Grammy awards. Including Best Country Album as well as Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “I Remember Everything.” The song won for Duo/Group Performance in February 2024, giving Bryan his biggest trophy to date.
I was lucky enough to attend his “The Quitting Time Tour” over the summer. It was honestly the best concert I have ever been to. I was able to attend it with my three best friends and will be forever a core memory. I think about this concert almost every time I hear any of his songs and will forever be thankful to have been able to go.
