Yes, Zach Bryan is Releasing Another Album, “Summertime Blues”
Yes, Zach Bryan just released a 34-song album in May called American Heartbreak. Yes, it’s been in one of the top 3 spots on the Billboard Country Albums chart ever since and is one of the biggest releases in country music all year, cementing Zach Bryan as one of the biggest artists in country music at the moment. Yes, Zach Bryan is about to release a whole new 9-song album called Summertime Blues on July 15th. And yes, he’s calling it an “EP,” but at nine songs, it’s as long as most albums these days.
I have absolutely no idea how to evaluate this move. Just like everything Zach Bryan is doing and has done, it’s unprecedented. Conventional wisdom would be to say he’s wearing out the public, overloading them with music, and running the risk of deprecating his only months-old American Heartbreak album that still is enjoying tons of momentum with a new release so soon. But this is Zach Bryan, and he’s done nothing but defy convention from the beginning, and found wild success doing so. He’s completely rewriting everything we know about music.
So sure, go ahead and release a new album. How it will all shake out, we’ll find out soon enough. The album includes a couple of songs already familiar to many hardcore Zach Bryan fans. One such track is called “Oklahoma Smoke Show” that he’s been playing live recently, as well as the title track “Summertime Blues,” which no, is not the old Eddie Cochran tune about raising a fuss and a holler that was once covered by Alan Jackson (and countless others). Bryan tried to release “Summertime Blues” previously, but there was some permissions issue that got in the way, but has since repopulated on YouTube (see below).
Apparently the album did start out being a bit shorter, but stuff got added, including a song called “Jamie” that may have slipped on the track list by accident. Bryan continues to reference the album as an EP. American Heartbreak received over 87 million streams upon its debut, and with 34 tracks, will likely remain the dominant release. But Summertime Blues could ensconce Zach Bryan in yet another top spot on the country albums chart, and juice his cumulative sales and streaming numbers.
Meanwhile, Zach Bryan is getting ready to play the Calgary Stampede on July 11th, the Wild Hare Music Festival in Oregon on July 15th, and Under The Big Sky Fest in Montana on July 17th. Some continue to wonder what the hype is about. Many others are fully bought in, and are ready to vacuum up whatever Zach Bryan releases, and will eat this “EP” up.
Summertime Blues Track List:
1. “Quittin’ Time”
2. “Motorcycle Drive By”
3. “Summertime Blues”
4. “Oklahoma Smoke Show”
5. “Jamie”
6. “Twenty So”
7. “Us Then”
8. “Matt and Audie”
9. “All the Time”
July 9, 2022 @ 8:44 am
This is gonna be good, but I’m most excited for the song with CWG.
July 9, 2022 @ 9:17 am
Artists used to release 2-3 albums a year regularly back in the day.
July 9, 2022 @ 9:32 am
That’s interesting. Who are you thinking of and when? I assume they didn’t write all the songs for those albums, did they? It would be hard to find enough time to do all that! That’s part of what makes Bryan’s productivity seem unusual. I’m not inspired by what I’ve heard to do a deep dive, but I can’t call him a slacker, lol.
July 12, 2022 @ 8:58 am
From 1963 to 1970 The Beatles released 13 studio albums and changed the face of music forever.
From 1969 to 1976 Elton John released 11 albums, with at least half of them being classics.
It’s not that hard. Or it wasn’t unitil “the machine” fucked everything up.
July 12, 2022 @ 9:09 am
The Beatles and Elton John are a pretty high standard!
July 9, 2022 @ 9:51 am
Yeah… like one studio album, a covers album, and a hits compilation. I guarantee no artist ever released 43 almost all original songs written by him or herself in one year.
July 9, 2022 @ 10:01 am
Zach Bryan isn’t doing this in a year. He releasing 43 songs in the span of three months, and if I were to guess, he’s not finished with his output for 2022. He’s already hinted there will be more.
My favorite example of a prolific artist is Credence Clearwater Revival. They released three albums in 1969, and five albums between 1969 and 1970 that comprise virtually their entire body of work that we all know. Those albums ranged from between 7 to 11 tracks. Then they imploded.
July 9, 2022 @ 10:07 am
Oh man, Love CCR
July 9, 2022 @ 11:10 am
A certain former alt-country darling is about to release his 3rd album of the year. Probably doesn’t count though, since he doesn’t really exist anymore.
July 9, 2022 @ 3:31 pm
Who is that?
July 9, 2022 @ 3:35 pm
Cancelled out of existence. I found that Romeo & Juliet and Chris stuff pretty unlistenable (I’m assuming that’s who you meant). Am a huge fan of lots of his earlier stuff though.
July 9, 2022 @ 4:35 pm
Yes, Ryan Adams. And yeah, some good songs but not nearly at his previousl level.
July 10, 2022 @ 5:07 am
I think Poems and Closing Time sounds like a Whiskeytown song.
July 10, 2022 @ 7:19 pm
I can see that.
July 12, 2022 @ 8:59 am
Going to see him in ATL in October. Can’t wait.
July 19, 2022 @ 1:29 pm
When I saw Zach was releasing another album, it reminded me of 2005 Ryan Adams. People complained it was just too much, but me personally, the more the merrier. I will never complain about an artist releasing too much music, and I look forward to Zach’s third release of the year whenever that may be, and I am looking forward to Ryan’s 3rd release on Friday. Heck, Daniel Romano released like 12 albums in 2020, then followed it up with 3 more in 2021, so there is a precedent for releasing a ton of music in a single year.
July 9, 2022 @ 10:05 am
I never claimed they were all written by the artists, and I’m not trying to take anything away from Zach, I love the kid. I was just making the point that it used to be common to get multiple albums from a single artist in a calendar year. Johnny Cash, Willie, Waylon, Jimmy Buffett, Sinatra, Elvis, the list is pretty endless.
July 9, 2022 @ 3:51 pm
And the Beatles, Stones, Cream
July 9, 2022 @ 11:02 am
They like to call it a “box set”, but Vince Gill released a 43-song quadruple album in 2006 entitled “these days”
July 10, 2022 @ 5:08 am
That’s an excellent example.
July 10, 2022 @ 9:10 pm
Taylor Swift did it in 2020
July 12, 2022 @ 9:01 am
Yeah, but what Taylor Swift did sucked.
July 9, 2022 @ 9:42 am
“Running the risk of depreciating his only months-old American Heartbreak.”
Maybe none of that matters, and like Purgatory, the better music will simply prevail. I think sometimes people get too caught up in calculations, marketing strategy, and overall treating music too much like a commodity. Just make good f’ing music and release it whenever you want. The rest will work itself out.
I see no downside to a great artist about to release more songs. He’s on fire right now.
July 9, 2022 @ 9:47 am
I get it.
He’s stripped down & real.
Just being himself
July 9, 2022 @ 11:32 am
Hank 3 released quite a bit in 2011
July 9, 2022 @ 1:58 pm
Gentle reminder for everyone here (all 10 of you) to be on your best behavior commenting or Trigger will close the comment section. Rules will not be enforced fairly. And of the comment section gets salty it prevents thousands of readers from clicking on this article or others, somehow.
July 11, 2022 @ 6:54 am
Christ people like you are so beyond annoying its no wonder the comment section gets shut.
July 9, 2022 @ 2:16 pm
I look forward to it.
July 9, 2022 @ 3:34 pm
The whole angle about releasing too much music is narrow-minded. It reminds me of when folks were saying Marvel movies were going to fail because they were releasing 2/3 movies a year.
They didn’t fail because the material was good. As Father Mulcahy said, “You can’t miss if you have good material.”
Elvis didn’t fail releasing 2-3 albums a year. Neither did Waylon or Willie.
Just release good music.
July 11, 2022 @ 6:53 am
you get an extra thumbs up just for referencing M*A*S*H
July 9, 2022 @ 3:53 pm
I don’t understand this, but I like it. Why wouldn’t he just make 3 shorter album to release in a year? I understand that no one is constrained by the physical limitations of a medium anymore, but people are used to a general album length and release schedule. Maybe this puts the control back in the hands of the artists.
July 9, 2022 @ 5:18 pm
I’m glad this kid has replaced Sturgill as the performer whose scrotum SCM and its readers are gobbling en masse. I don’t enjoy his music, but he seems like an okay dude, and unlike Simpson, this cat is not untalented.
July 9, 2022 @ 5:53 pm
King,
You certainly have a way with words. LMAF.
I do not get Zach like others do, but more power to him. He is an interesting story for sure.
July 19, 2022 @ 10:58 am
So much Sturgill hate in all of Trigger’s comment sections. No wonder country music is dying.
July 9, 2022 @ 5:49 pm
in country music, being prolific in releasing albums is good, and good for your standing in the country world. strait has 30 studio albums, merle had 66, george jones had 87. rascal flatts only had 10.
leann rimes, who is 17 yrs younger than shania twain has 17 studio albums, while shania has only 5 studio albums.
keep up your songwriting and production, zach bryan!
July 9, 2022 @ 6:37 pm
Nice. Go, kid.
July 9, 2022 @ 9:02 pm
If AH isn’t album of the year come December I will laugh my proverbial ass off, this album is prolific & badass. All the hate this kid garners here is funny, he’s making great country music. Hank 3 did it then it quit, Cody did it and it was amazing and then it trickles out. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts. Like a firecracker I say.
July 10, 2022 @ 2:27 pm
Who doesn’t like him I wonder. I think most mainstream country is complete trash. ZB is a breath of fresh air!
July 10, 2022 @ 5:49 am
Looking forward to it. “Heavy Eyes” is my 4 year old’s favorite song right now. He was humming the melody after the first time he heard it. We listen to American Heartbreak all the time now. It’s a major upgrade from his previous favorite song, “Spooky Scary Skeletons”. Thanks, ZB!
July 10, 2022 @ 6:49 am
I wonder if “Motorcycle Drive By” is a cover of Third Eye Blind song. It is an epic track on their first album.
July 11, 2022 @ 6:40 am
I’d be interested in hearing Zach Bryan’s “Summertime Blues” ,though I was seven when Eddie Cochran’s interpretation became the early sixties’ suburban lad’s lament.