Is Zach Bryan’s Quittin’ Time tour worth the hype? OPINION
By Ashley Oiler
April 10, 2024
Image Credit: Photo by Ashley Oiler
For the ninth stop on his almost completely sold-out tour, Zach Bryan brought his heartfelt songs to the Capital One stadium on Monday, March 25.
I was lucky enough to get tickets all the way back in September when they went on sale, and as an avid country music fan, I was elated that Bryan made those tickets worth it.
Bryan packed 22 songs into his set, which lasted about an hour and a half. He opened with “Overtime," which was a fantastic choice because the opening electric guitar riff is the national anthem, and what says country music if not some pulls at patriotism?
Bryan has a live band to accompany him complete with a fiddler and multiple banjos. The fiddler, Lucas Ruge-Jones, was one of my favorite people to watch perform that night. He bounced around the stage, playing the violin and trumpet, and interacting with the crowd as much as he could.
One of my favorite things about this concert was how much it sounded exactly like the records, if not better. Bryan’s vocals were exactly like his records and it was very impressive to see him switch from belting to his yells seamlessly. If you listen to Zach Bryan, you might know that a lot of his songs are very acoustic which seems like they wouldn’t transfer over well to play in an arena. I thought the same, but Bryan and his band made songs like “Dawns,” “Fifth of May,” and “Tourniquet” loud, exciting, and still melancholic but not overtly so.
The setlist was very balanced, with a good mix of his #1 hits and older or B-side songs that made me want to listen to him even more after the concert, which I think is a good sign.
For the D.C. show, we did get some special guests. Bryan brought out Micheal Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who make up The War and Treaty and are featured on Zach Bryan’s song “Hey Driver.” This was one of the most exciting parts of the show, but not a complete surprise because Bryan has been bringing out artists at a few of his shows recently including Kasey Musgraves and most recently, Bruce Springsteen.
“Hey, Driver” was easily one of the best performances of the night. The crowd was so excited and The War and Treaty sounded incredible along with Bryan. Trotter Jr. played the piano which added to the ambiance and made the song even better.
For the encore, Bryan played “Revival.” If you have seen any videos on TikTok or Instagram about a Zach Bryan concert, chances are you saw a video of this song. It is the biggest song of the night because it’s ten minutes of partying and Bryan introducing and thanking each one of his bandmates, who then each get their own solo in the song. I was most excited to see this song in person because I had seen all these videos and it was exactly how I imagined. The crowd loved it and screamed the lyrics, one man in my section was even running up and down the row singing along.
The Quittin’ Time tour was well worth the hype. Bryan delivered a great performance with a variety of songs from all of his albums and it sounded just as good, if not better than his recordings.
I was lucky enough to get tickets all the way back in September when they went on sale, and as an avid country music fan, I was elated that Bryan made those tickets worth it.
Bryan packed 22 songs into his set, which lasted about an hour and a half. He opened with “Overtime," which was a fantastic choice because the opening electric guitar riff is the national anthem, and what says country music if not some pulls at patriotism?
Bryan has a live band to accompany him complete with a fiddler and multiple banjos. The fiddler, Lucas Ruge-Jones, was one of my favorite people to watch perform that night. He bounced around the stage, playing the violin and trumpet, and interacting with the crowd as much as he could.
One of my favorite things about this concert was how much it sounded exactly like the records, if not better. Bryan’s vocals were exactly like his records and it was very impressive to see him switch from belting to his yells seamlessly. If you listen to Zach Bryan, you might know that a lot of his songs are very acoustic which seems like they wouldn’t transfer over well to play in an arena. I thought the same, but Bryan and his band made songs like “Dawns,” “Fifth of May,” and “Tourniquet” loud, exciting, and still melancholic but not overtly so.
The setlist was very balanced, with a good mix of his #1 hits and older or B-side songs that made me want to listen to him even more after the concert, which I think is a good sign.
For the D.C. show, we did get some special guests. Bryan brought out Micheal Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who make up The War and Treaty and are featured on Zach Bryan’s song “Hey Driver.” This was one of the most exciting parts of the show, but not a complete surprise because Bryan has been bringing out artists at a few of his shows recently including Kasey Musgraves and most recently, Bruce Springsteen.
“Hey, Driver” was easily one of the best performances of the night. The crowd was so excited and The War and Treaty sounded incredible along with Bryan. Trotter Jr. played the piano which added to the ambiance and made the song even better.
For the encore, Bryan played “Revival.” If you have seen any videos on TikTok or Instagram about a Zach Bryan concert, chances are you saw a video of this song. It is the biggest song of the night because it’s ten minutes of partying and Bryan introducing and thanking each one of his bandmates, who then each get their own solo in the song. I was most excited to see this song in person because I had seen all these videos and it was exactly how I imagined. The crowd loved it and screamed the lyrics, one man in my section was even running up and down the row singing along.
The Quittin’ Time tour was well worth the hype. Bryan delivered a great performance with a variety of songs from all of his albums and it sounded just as good, if not better than his recordings.