Zach Bryan
Phoenix Park, Dublin
★★★★☆
Yeehaw arrived in the Phoenix Park on Friday night for the first of Zach Bryan’s three shows this weekend and there was plenty of welly given from all involved.
The American country singer-songwriter and rock musician played to a sold-out crowd of 60,000, with a lot of cowboy hats and boots, lace, denim and fringes in attendance.
In fact, the vibe was perfectly summed up by two people behind us on the 50-ish minute walk in from the Heuston Luas stop: “If you look out, you just see a crowd of people,” the woman says, “and they all look the same.” A man replies: “Even the lads – all in T-shirts and shorts – and there’s always someone too drunk to get in.”
In fairness, the scorching weather certainly called for shorts, and the boho-cowboy look many of the women were going for, combined with the sticky heat, gave the lengthy stroll down Chesterfield Avenue a feeling of the US music festival Coachella, which takes place in the desert.
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Days after the death of Henry Mount Charles, one can’t help but be reminded of the long trek through Slane for the many legendary concerts there and, inside, the queues for most food and drink merchants are similar to those of the Meath venue – long, winding and feel as if they are ever-growing.
Indeed, one concertgoer remarked that they were in the queue for the bar for an hour. A ticket for Bryan does not come cheap – upwards of €120 at the time of the initial sale and much more now for resale – so spending a lot of that time waiting isn’t ideal.
That said, Bryan himself certainly gave fans their money’s worth, coming on stage just after 8pm and playing until the 10.30pm curfew. Those at Charli XCX this week in Malahide unfortunately couldn’t say the same.
His onstage band include trumpets, fiddles, piano, double bass and a multitude of others – most wearing western-style outfits and cowboy hats, which all tied in the howdy vibes perfectly next to Bryan’s more subdued short-sleeved shirt and trousers.
The Oklahoma man has a real southern charm to him and comes across as incredibly endearing as he repeatedly thanks the audience and smiles when they are singing along with the likes of Pink Skies – which some may recognise from TikTok – and Something in the Orange, in particular. He offers some titbits from his life between the songs while sipping on a can of Budweiser.
Bryan’s songs also carry a deep romance to them, reflected in the crowd with couples hugging and swaying together. There is swinging and dancing during the livelier ones too, such as Nine Ball and the encore’s Revival.
The show’s visuals are effective, too, and change throughout the set. Expect all the bells and whistles at the end in the form of fireworks.
Overall, it’s a charming performance filled with references to good old American culture, without all of the politics. Bryan really feels like the Garth Brooks of the next generation – though he’d probably qualify for a cooler comparison of Bruce Springsteen.
If you’re heading to the show on Saturday or Sunday, make sure to drink a lot of water – as Bryan himself had to stop the show to make sure a fan was okay after an incident that reminded the crowd of the same message. And maybe leave the cowboy boots at home as there were many soiled socks on the way back as the heavy footwear became unbearable for the long journey in and out.
