Zach Bryan Artistfacts

April 2, 1996
Zach Bryan was born in Okinawa, Japan, while his family was on deployment with the US Navy. He grew up in Oologah, Oklahoma.
His late mother DeAnn, father Dewayne, and grandpa were all in the Navy. Continuing the family tradition, Bryan enlisted in the US Navy aged 17. He achieved the rank of Petty officer second class, the equivalent to sergeant in the Army and Marine Corps, and staff sergeant in the Air Force.

Bryan was honorably discharged in November 2021 after eight years of service just ahead of his Ain't For Tamin' Tour.
Bryan started writing songs in his early teenage years and used his spare time in the Navy to write music for his enjoyment. He posted most of his music on his YouTube channel directly from his iPhone. Bryan exploded in popularity after releasing a video of himself playing his autobiographical song "Heading South" drenched in sweat beside a campfire.
Bryan released two independent albums while serving in the US Navy through his Belting Broncos imprint.

DeAnn, named after the singer's mother who died in 2016, was recorded at an Airbnb in Jacksonville, Florida, where Bryan was stationed at the time. Bryan and his friends used Guitar Center equipment bought on a sailor's budget.

He recorded Elisabeth in a repurposed barn behind his home in Washington.
Zach Bryan made his Grand Ole Opry debut on April 10, 2021, where he performed with Jordan Davis, Runaway June, Matthew West and Carly Pearce.
In August 2021, Bryan signed a deal with Warner Records. He released his major-label debut album, American Heartbreak, in May 2022. One of its tracks, "Something In The Orange," became his first Hot 100 hit.
Bryan is one of the few country stars that writes most of his own songs without co-writers. He also produces most of his own material.
Bryan loves poetry, especially the work of Jack Kerouac, the Beat poet famous for On The Road. In 2025, he spent $3.4 million to help turn the church Kerouac attended in Lowell, Massachusetts, into the Jack Kerouac Center, a museum and performance space that honors Kerouac's legacy.
He leveled up in 2023 with "I Remember Everything," a wrenching duet with Kacey Musgraves that was the first #1 Hot 100 hit for either artist. Bryan and Musgraves had both gone through divorces just a few years earlier and were able to channel those emotions into the song.
On September 27, 2025, Bryan headlined the first concert held at Michigan Stadium, the largest stadium in America. The show sold out in three hours and drew 112,408 fans, breaking the record for most-attended ticketed concert, previously held by George Strait, whose show at Texas A&M's stadium in 2024 drew 110,905.

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