Zach Bryan’s review – US’s biggest star has turned the UK into a mixed-race rodeo | The world

Zach Bryan knows how to be loved by the English crowd. The star strolled on stage with a guitar in an Ozzy Osbourne T-shirt as his band sang Come Together, to the cheers of thousands ready to sing every word back between drinking and two-stepping.

At the beginning of the show, Bryan paused and said: “I hope you know who you are, we welcome you here,” before starting his first song, God Speed. His thoughts reflect his group’s With Heaven on Tour collective, broader interpretation of what country music sounds and looks like: Bryan is inviting everyone to the rodeo, making him a standout in a genre that can be hostile to outsiders. This helps explain how, in seven years, the 30-year-old Oklahoman went from being a US Navy veteran who released his own album to one of the biggest names in country music, now with six albums under his belt – and who has helped the genre become a stadium-filling, festival-making phenomenon in the UK where it was inconsistent.

Bryan commands the stage with a Springsteen-like voice, bravado and songs that speak of emotion, self-doubt and addiction. Apart from a few moments, the show is full of devastating punches that make the crowd scream – such as the opening sequence, Motorcycle Chase 2022, and the rise of Say Why, where Bryan plays with his 20-strong support group and throws Liverpool words into his voice at every turn. But the sound of Bryan’s music and music is most evident during the low-key moments. More musicians take off for Pink Skies, giving Bryan a chance to play guitar and harmonica, then Oklahoma Smokeshow’s vocals are drowned out for the first time as the crowd chants: “He’s a country ass.” The broken song Something in Orange offers a moment of emotional catharsis, and it speaks to his brand of good manhood: many men around me have tears in their eyes.

The 15-minute refreshment of the 2020 Revival sends beer everywhere. Not content to just leave the stage, Bryan dives down the barriers with his guitar and hands it to a lucky fan, everyone else in his hands.