As many of you know, Zach Bryan recently played two back-to-back headlining shows at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Not only were both of his Tulsa shows sold out, the state of Oklahoma even declared that the weekend of the shows would be called "Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend".
I was lucky enough to attend both shows and partake in other exciting events in Tulsa and surrounding areas during Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend.
Since there is so much to talk about from our trip to Tulsa, I will be writing about the trip in multiple blog posts rather than just one. This blog post will cover the first two days of my trip!
Thursday, August 10: Travel Day & Exploring Tulsa
Around 7 a.m. Thursday morning, my mom and I hit the road and set out on the 6-hour drive from Memphis, Tennessee, to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I drove the whole way and, surprisingly, the drive seemed to fly by. Maybe that's because I've grown used to making long drives or maybe it's because I was pushing 85 the whole way there. You decide.
We arrived in Tulsa around 1 p.m. and went straight to Black Gold Tattoos. At Black Gold, tattoo-artist, Ben Spangler, drew up & tattooed a beautiful design for me inspired by the Zach Bryan song, 'Washington Lilacs'. If you’re ever in the Tulsa area and looking to get tattooed — check out Black Gold Tattoos. They do a great job; I was super impressed with their staff and shop.
After checking into our hotel, my mom and I decided to walk over to the BOK Center where Zach would be playing the following two nights. Upon arriving at the venue, we saw that the city had temporarily changed the names of the streets around the BOK Center to be Zach Bryan-themed. The new, temporary street names were Burn, Burn, Burn Blvd, Tulsa In The Orange Pl, Oklahoma Smokeshow Rd, and Motorcycle Drive (By). These street signs made for great photo ops and also emphasized how excited the city was to welcome Zach home.
After making the long, hot walk back to our hotel, my mom and I spent the rest of our day taking things easy so that we would be mentally and physically prepared for the rest of Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend.
Friday, August 11: ZLB Night 1
For my Mom and I, our Friday began around 5 a.m. The BOK Center was to begin handing out numbered GA wristbands at 8 a.m. so we decided to get there around 6 a.m. as we knew people would be lining up well before 8. We later discovered that the first person in line had been there since 11 p.m. Thursday night! However, arriving around 6 didn't set us far back in line at all; we wound up being given wristband numbers 28 and 29.
After getting our wristbands and grabbing a bite to eat, we went back to the hotel and took a nap. Around 3 p.m. we headed back to the BOK Center for the Oklahoma Smokeshow Pre-Party which started at 4 p.m.
The pre-party featured live music from up-and-coming artists, a variety of vendors, food trucks, a bar, photo-ops, and other fun activities. In addition to the live music, my favorite part of the pre-party was the axe, knife, and ninja star throwing.
After enjoying the pre-party for a bit and buying merchandise from the merch truck, my mom and I got into the GA line and waited to enter the venue. While the entry into the BOK Center was a bit less organized than I had hoped it would be, we still managed to snag a spot on the barricade.
If you know me, you know I’m a huge fan of J.R. Carroll, Charles Wesley Godwin, and Zach Bryan, and have been for quite a while now. So the line-up for the Tulsa shows was basically my dream line-up.
J.R. Carroll kicked the night off with an amazing set. In addition to his great music, his comedic commentary before almost every song just made his set even better. J.R. also played his soon-to-be-released song 'Diamondhead' which will be available on all streaming platforms on September 6th. (I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this one for a while now; once you hear it you'll understand why). While most of the people around me didn't seem to know his music that night, I know for a fact that J.R. will be leaving Tulsa with a fair amount of new fans based on their reactions to his set.
Charles Wesley Godwin came on next and, like J.R., played a captivatingly beautiful set. Charles and his band, The Allegheny High, are so entertaining to watch. Even though their set was stationed at one end of the in-the-round stage, Charles and his band were all over the stage throughout their entire set.
During Charles’ set, Zach came out to sing both Jamie and Country Roads. Even though I couldn’t see the exact moment when Zach took the stage from my position on the rail, I knew he was up there due to the sheer increase in volume from the crowd. Like J.R., I know that Charles and The Allegheny High will be gaining many new fans from their performances in Tulsa.
As my mom and I waited on the barricade for Zach Bryan to take the stage, I could feel the anticipation and excitement building around me. The second that Zach took the stage, the volume in the BOK Center became practically deafening. Everyone was so excited just to see Zach; he hadn’t even played a single chord yet and people were already going wild.
Zach and his band played an amazing, unforgettable set. His setlist featured his well-known songs such as Heading South, Revival, and Something in the Orange but also included deeper cuts such as Doing Fine and Starved. Before Zach’s set that night, a friend had asked me what songs I really wanted to hear. My answer to that question was: Starved, Burn, Burn, Burn, and Tishomingo. When I had answered that question, I had doubted that Zach would play both Starved and Tishomingo but I was hoping to hear at least one of the two. However, it must have been my lucky night since Zach played all 3 of the songs I was most excited about.
Zach and his band truly know how to work an in-the-round stage. Even when Zach was on the opposite side of the stage and I couldn’t see him at all, I was still thoroughly entertained from watching the band — specifically, Graham, J.R., and Steve since they were right in front of me most of the night.
For me, one of the show's most memorable moments was when Zach played “Sweet DeAnn”. Even though I had heard him play this song at 6 shows up to this point, this specific performance hit much deeper for me. In addition to being a beautiful tribute to his Mom, the song “Sweet DeAnn” had come to mean more to me in the weeks leading up to the show. As Zach played “Sweet DeAnn”, the BOK Center was illuminated with phone flashlights and lighters — I wish I had taken a video or picture but I was too overcome with emotions at the time to even think about doing so.
While Zach's set seemed longer than most, I still wasn't ready for it to be over. After the show ended, my mom and I headed back to the hotel. We had been planning to go to the after-parties that Dewayne Bryan had organized but, once we got back, we realized just how exhausted we were. So, instead of going back out, we ordered way too much food from Papa John's and went to bed. We needed the rest; we would be seeing Zach again the following night.
Stay tuned for my upcoming blog posts: Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend Parts 2 and 3.
If you’re interested in discovering more about the artists discussed in this article you can check them out on Instagram: J.R. Carroll / Charles Wesley Godwin / Zach Bryan.
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