Zach Bryan Essentials

Playlist ∙ 2025

Apple Music Country

Unstinting honesty and stripped-down simplicity are at the core of Oklahoma troubadour Zach Bryan’s country-folk-inflected approach. When you cut your debut album (2019’s DeAnn) while on leave from the Navy, you don’t have time to mess around. He’s a storyteller with a poetic flair, and on unadorned acoustic tracks like “Oklahoma City” and the hushed, gentle “Rest, Rose,” you can see the local color and feel Bryan’s plaintive voice vibrating the air. When he brings a few friends in on “Crooked Teeth,” the stomping-and-clapping vibe gives all the earthy intimacy of a campfire sing-along.