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Zach Bryan Discusses Songs from His New ‘Summertime Blues’ EP

Zach Bryan is one of the most interesting young artists in country music today. He has a knack for writing songs that will reach deep into your heart and stir feelings you didn’t know you had. More than that, he knows how to make those songs even heavier with his vocal delivery. However, it’s more than the music he creates that makes Zach an anomaly in the genre. Instead, it is how he connects with his ever-growing fanbase.

For example, most artists in any genre will let their labels and PR teams make their big announcements. When a new album, EP, or single is on the horizon, their team puts out a press release to spread the word. Zach Bryan, on the other hand, doesn’t do press releases. Instead, he takes to social media to alert his fans. The Oklahoma native wants everything to come directly from the horse’s mouth.

On Friday, Zach Bryan released his new EP, Summertime Blues. This comes just a couple of months after he dropped his massive 34-track label debut American Heartbreak.

After his fans had time to listen to the new EP a few times, Zach Bryan took to Twitter to discuss the meaning behind a few of the songs. This level of dedication to his fans is truly what sets him apart from the crowd.

Zach Bryan Discusses Songs from Summertime Blues

Unfortunately, Zach Bryan didn’t discuss all nine of the tracks from his new EP. However, he did get into the stories behind a few of them. Let’s dig in

https://twitter.com/zachlanebryan/status/1548107321040982016

“Quittin’ Time”

Zach Bryan said that the EP’s opening track is about wanting to go home after being on the road.  “Touring is really grueling. You’re out of shape looking for places to do laundry, on flights and buses and going everywhere,” he wrote. In a way, he can compare touring to his time in the Navy. “I was in the Navy a long time and I remember just wanting to go home, but not wanting to, at the same time, until the job was well done.”

He went on to say, “I have a lot of good family and friends and people that love me and I’m ready to go home (sometimes) and spend time with people I love. I actually wrote the entire song in the Denver Broncos stadium which is just hilarious.”

“Motorcycle Drive-By”

Zach Bryan has tackled the themes present in “Motorcycle Drive-By” in the past. However, those themes are important enough to revisit. “Life is really fleeting and we’re all trying really hard,” he wrote. “Lately, my life has been moving insanely fast and so many things have happened – good and bad – and I wanted to try to capture the feeling of how fast it all moves and the intention of stepping back and taking a deep breath and realizing you have to enjoy it and enjoy every single second with the people you love.”

You’ve got to admit, Zach Bryan seems wise beyond his years, here.

Zach Bryan on the Ep’s Title Track

“Honestly,” he said about the title track of the EP, “ [I] just came up with the bourbon line and wanted to paint a picture of the coastline in the summertime and how beautiful it is that we’re all on our own journeys.”  

“Oklahoma Smokeshow”

“This song was just fun to write,” he said in the tweet. “I had the Oklahoma Smokeshow part stuck in my head for days. A song is each person’s to interpret, but I wrote it around the concept of growing up in a small town and no one really ever leaving.”

However, don’t think that Zach Bryan was looking down his nose at folks from small towns. “It’s not meant to be rude towards small-town folks, either,” he affirmed. “I’m a small town Oklahoman and I’m proud of that, but I was just trying to make it feel spacey and tell the story of a lot of small-town bar scenes and the rowdiness of it all, and the longing to be with someone you might never have.”

More Will Come Later

Zach Bryan stopped his exploration of Summertime Blues after talking about “Oklahoma Smokeshow.” However, he told his fans he would get into the rest of the songs from the EP later. If he does, we’ll come back and update this post with the rest of the songs. So, bookmark this page and check back later.