Oklahoma man, country music star, Grammy Award-winning Zach Bryan has announced three Dublin dates at Phoenix Park in 2025, two of which sold out on Thursday morning.
Bryan plays Phoenix Park on Friday June 20th, Saturday June 21st, and Sunday June 22nd 2025.
But who is the man who was the third-most streamed artist on Spotify in the US in 2024, that you may never have heard of?
Bryan was actually born in Japan but grew up in Oklahoma. He has one sister and started writing songs at just 14 years old.
He enlisted in the US Navy at 17 and was an active-duty member for seven years, finishing his service in 2021 at 25.
He began uploading his music to YouTube in 2017 with his friends recording him performing using his iPhone. His first song uploaded to YouTube was the single God Speed, which became a track on his debut album.
He uploaded 16 songs of varying popularity onto his YouTube before the song Heading South went viral. It was recorded outside his Navy barracks.
His debut album, DeAnn was dedicated to his late mother and released in August 2019. It was written in two months and recorded with his friends in an Airbnb in Florida. It consisted of 12 tracks.
He released his second album, Elisabeth, in May 2020 and named it after his ex-wife Rose ‘Elisabeth’ Madden.
In 2021, Bryan signed a deal with Warner Records to release his music, and was honorably discharged from the US Navy after eight years of service to pursue his career in music ahead of his nationwide Fall 2021 Ain’t For Tamin’ Tour.
The singer released his major-label debut, a triple album titled American Heartbreak in May 2022, and in April 2022 he released the hit single Something in the Orange.
The song became a mainstream hit and is regarded as one of Bryan’s most recognisable and identifiable songs.
He completed his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2023 while touring and creating an album, and in July 2024, released his fifth studio album, The Great American Bar Scene.
This World’s a Giant, one of the songs from the album, peaked at number 32 in Ireland, while High Road, peaked at number 29.
American heartbreak
The 29-year-old has amassed over 21.8 billion global streams, and his debut major-label album, American Heartbreak, topped Billboard's Country Albums chart and reached the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 in the US.
Bryan has also got 30 RIAA Gold and Platinum certifications, and his seven-times-platinum hit, Something in the Orange earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance in 2023.
He won a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2024 for the track I Remember Everything, featuring Kacey Musgraves.
On Christmas Day in 2022, he released his first-ever live album, titled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks), and throughout 2023, he travelled the globe for his sold-out Burn, Burn, Burn tour, breaking attendance records along the way.
He has collaborated with major artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Bon Ivor, Noah Kahan, Maggie Rogers and The Lumineers. In 2023, he was named Billboard's Top New Artist, becoming the first country artist to do so, and took home three more Billboard Music Awards.
His 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene emerged at number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Americana/Folk Albums, and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts.
Phoenix Park is Europe's largest city park, and at 1,752 acres, is twice as big as Central Park in New York City.
The last artist to play a concert in Phoenix Park was Ed Sheeran in 2018 as part of the Divide tour, while artists and bands who played there in previous years include The Killers, Robbie Williams, Snow Patrol, The Stone Roses, and Kanye West.
Of course, Pope Francis also gave Papal Mass at Phoenix Park in August 2018.
Bryan's last concerts in Ireland were in April 2023 at The Helix, which has a capacity of just under 2,000.
This is large contrast to the Phoenix Park venue, which has hosted some of Ireland's biggest concerts - with Robbie Williams' 2003 show at the venue setting the record for the biggest open-air concert ever held in the country.
The popstar - who will play Croke Park in August 2025 - sold 135,000 tickets to the concert.
At the time of writing, the capacity for Bryan's Phoenix Park concerts is unknown.
Bryan's three Irish dates will be followed by his two BST Hyde Park headlining concerts in London on June 28th and 29th 2025.
He has been described as having a once-in-a-generation voice and is currently in the middle of the Quittin Time 2024 Tour, his biggest headline tour to date, playing stadiums and major arenas throughout North America.
The singer has quickly established himself as one of the most compelling voices in modern American music, blending elements of folk, country, and alternative genres to create soul-stirring songs, and earning a devoted following worldwide.
As part of the announement for his Irish shows, Bryan incorporated a lyric from the traditional sea shanty Drunken Sailor, popularised by The Irish Rovers in 1994, into the artwork.
In the caption of the post, he wrote "Just because we're done touring doesn't mean we forgot about you," in all capital letters.
The chart-topper has maintained that he is not 'touring' in the traditional sense of the word in 2025, however he has announced numerous concerts worldwide, including the three Dublin gigs, two in London, three with Kings of Leon in New Jersey and another with the band in San Francisco.
Bryan has framed his international dates as being part of his '2025 World Summer Shows', and he revealed in November that he has been accepted to study for a Masters degree in Paris in 2025.
The country music star's ex-girlfriend Brianna LaPaglia, a 25-year-old influencer also known as Brianna Chickenfry, previously accused the country star of "emotional abuse," claiming he offered her $12 million to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) about their breakup in October.
She spoke about her past relationship with Bryan during an episode of her BFFs podcast and said she was urged to speak out about the breakup for the sake of other exes who went through similar experiences dating the musician.
Bryan has not publicly responded to the claims.
