Which rock icons are collaborating with Zach Bryan on 'The Great American Bar Scene'?
Zach Bryan's fifth studio album, the 17-track "The Great American Bar Scene," arrives on Friday, July 5.
Five albums, three EPs and one live album might seem like a deluge for some, but the Oologah, Oklahoma, native's rise comes as streaming-first music fans turn over-indulgence in their favorite acts into a lucrative art form.
To wit, in the past two years, he's seen his single "Something in the Orange" achieve top 10 status on Billboard's all-genre Hot 100 chart while his eponymously titled fourth album topped the Billboard 200, with its Kacey Musgraves duet "I Remember Everything" topping the Hot 100 chart and winning a Grammy.
Just before the album's release and following a successful tour concert at Nashville's Nissan Stadium, Bryan posted a message on social media that, upon deeper review, revealed that "The Great American Bar Scene" would be his most ambitious project in the past half-decade.
The 2024 Grammy-winning artist is currently touring North American venues nationwide, including three nights at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena and two nights at the Barclays Center in New York.
Two rock icons on Bryan's latest album?
Alongside the previously-released "Pink Skies," two more collaborations — with John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen — will join Bryan's history of not just working with Musgraves, but with The War and Treaty, Sierra Ferrell, The Lumineers and Maggie Rogers in recent years.
With Mayer, it's expected that Bryan will release the Oct. 2023-recorded "Better Days." With Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Springsteen, one could expect their previously-performed duet "Sandpaper."
Also, Noeline Hofmann, a rising performer who collaborated with Bryan on the track ‘Purple Gas’, plus Texas-favorite singer-songwriter John Moreland are credited as co-writers with Bryan on the forthcoming album.
The performer's album was previewed at 23 bars across North America over the past two weeks.
That 1970s-era bar scene of which he's speaking is familiar to Dewey, Oklahoma, which is located 30 miles north of his Oologah roots.
'The Great American Bar Scene'
"(I) write and record music reckless and fast. I truly want to just say thank you for being so kind and patient, I'm really freaking grateful lately," Bryan offered via social media.
His notes about his process back then mirror his work at present:
"I've got no grand explanation for these songs, I got no riddle in the reasoning behind writing them, I don't have a ... roll-out plan to stuff it in front of as many people as I can," Bryan said.
"I just wrote some poems and songs I want to share because I think they're special. Some are heavy, some are hopeful, but more than anything, what's most important to me is that they're all mine. If people listen to it, I'll be grateful; if people don't, I'll still be grateful because I got the chance in this life to be original when it mattered."
Bryan's preface to the album's release offers that he views it as the culmination of a tumultuous worldwide journey.
"If you don't like it I assume it's not intended for you," he flatly states.
"Grab your beers through tears & tears, the Great American Bar Scene," he closes, with the chorus to the album's title song.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer collab with Zach Bryan on album
