The uninhibited behavior of a superfan captivated me at a Flatland Cavalry concert last month. Having previously worked out elaborate routines to the band’s repertoire, he acted out the lyrics to songs including "Sleeping Alone" with hand and body motions.
Like that earnest Flatland Cavalry fan, Zach Bryan has no use for irony. The star is as painfully sincere and unabashedly corny as he’s always been on the new album The Great American Bar Scene. Apparently, I’ve changed.
I’ve previously been disinterested in Bryan’s straightforward heartland rock. Yet The Great America Bar Scene’s recasting of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and John Mellencamp’s The Lonesome Jubilee won me over. Now please excuse me while I work on my routine for "American Nights". I pity everyone seated near me at Bryan’s two concerts at my local arena next month.