Welcome to part two of my blog series about my experience of Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma! If you haven't checked out part one yet, click here! As I mentioned in part one, I was lucky enough to attend both of Zach Bryan's shows in Tulsa so, in this post, I will discuss my Saturday in Tulsa and his Saturday night show.
August 12: Exploring Tulsa & ZLB Night 2
After experiencing Zach’s first night in Tulsa from a great spot on the barricade, my mom and I decided to take Dewayne Bryan’s advice and get a spot where we could see the video screens for the second night. Therefore, for night 2, we didn't wake up early to get a GA wristband at 8 a.m. We slept in instead and spent the first half of our day exploring Tulsa a little bit.
As someone who loves thrift and antique shopping, I thought it would be fun to see what Tulsa had to offer. My mom and I ended up going to a couple of vintage stores: Tulsa Vintage Co. and Love Me Two Times. If you’re ever in Tulsa, I highly recommend both of these shops. Both shops had friendly staff, great selections, and reasonable prices!
While I was in one of the vintage shops, I noticed that the guy a few feet from me looked very familiar. I quickly realized that Zach’s drummer, Steve Clark, was right next to me. It took me a while to work up the courage to say anything to him but I’m so glad I did — Steve was so kind to my mother and me. I wasn’t going to ask for a photo but Steve was kind enough to offer!
We then had a great lunch at In The Raw Sushi, a rooftop restaurant off Elgin Avenue. (I'm sure my Zach fans reading this will recognize this street name). The food here was great as were the views. I also recommend checking this place out if you ever find yourself in Tulsa.
After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, my mom and I made our way back to the BOK Center for the second and final show of Zach Bryan Hometown Weekend. Since we weren’t trying to get a spot on the barricade, we could enjoy more of the Oklahoma Smokeshow pre-party outside the BOK Center. At the pre-party, I was able to enjoy watching one of my close friends, Connor Wilson, perform with another great musician, Carly Nash. I was also able to enjoy live music from other up-and-coming artists including Emily Hollingshed, Casey West, and Kaden Madden.
Once we finally entered the BOK Center, my mom and I hung towards the back of the GA section so that we would be able to move around the in-the-round stage throughout the night. This way we were able to stand at the side of the stage J.R. Carroll performed on and then move to the opposite side where Charles Wesley Godwin performed.
J.R. Carroll and Charles Wesley Godwin both played beautiful sets once again on Saturday night. To my knowledge, J.R.'s set was the same as the night before but I was still captivated by it and sang along to every song. It was nice to be able to actually see J.R. and his entire band on Saturday night whereas on Friday, we were looking at their backs due to our spot on the barricade.
Charles Wesley Godwin and the Allegheny High put on a great show once again on Saturday night. However, at the beginning of his set, Charles announced that he had developed a case of laryngitis. Despite this, Charles still gave it his all just as he had on the first night. On Saturday, Zach and Charles did not sing Jamie together and Zach did not come out to sing Country Roads with Charles. Even though Zach did not come out, Charles' set was still thoroughly entertaining and exciting.
Like the night before, we could feel the energy and anticipation steadily building in the time before Zach Bryan's set. The GA section grew more and more packed as Zach's set neared and, once again, when he stepped on that stage, the crowd went wild.
Zach's set on Saturday night was pretty much the same as it was on Friday night. However, he did swap up a couple of songs. On Saturday he did not play Starved but he did play Man That's Never Known You. When he played Man That's Never Known You, I was in shock. I kept leaning over to my mom and saying "I can't believe he's playing this song". On Saturday night, Zach also played other deeper cuts such as Doing Fine, Oklahoman Son (which was still unreleased at the time), and Oklahoma City, in addition to his setlist staples such as Something in the Orange and God Speed.
As someone who has been a fan of Zach Bryan for about 4 years, it was truly incredible to see how much he has grown as an artist in such a relatively short time. In my opinion, his performances in Tulsa were a true testament to how far he has come as an artist.
Stay tuned for the final installment of this blog series!
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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