By Bryan F. Ahearn
There’s something in the orange, and then there’s something about Zach Bryan in Denver.
A night that began in a torrential downpour ended in a 70,000-strong choir concert set to fireworks—a fitting celebration of the togetherness Zach Bryan inspired during Night 2 at Empower Field in Denver.
For just over 2 hours Friday night, August 14, 2026, over 70,000 fans, sang along to, danced along to, and even—I am sure—cried along to Zach Bryan’s hit songs, his world-class band, his striking music videos—all emblazoned across a drive-in-sized video screen in the stadium end-zone.
All the hits were there—from Dry Deserts, to Pink Skies, to Nine Ball. But there was just something different about his live performance—nothing at all like the quieted, introspective nature of how his studio albums come across—and that was the true magic.
No full setlist spoilers here, but my son, an avid Zach Bryan fan, said we got every hit—except for maybe one or two. Personal highlights for me included Oklahoma Smokeshow and East Side of Sorrow.
But what got me was the sound this band and the fans delivered—together. The blaring horn section, the searing fiddles, the blazing guitar solos, and thunderous drums. Combine that with thousands and thousands of fans singing along for 2 hours straight—it was unlike any concert I’ve ever experienced—and the epitome of live music magic.
“The orange touches all things around.”
Zach Bryan
Indeed, there was something in the orange Friday night. And there’s just something about country music—the power, perhaps unlike any other—to unite so many generations, backgrounds and income classes.
And that might make country music more American than anything else out there.
So perhaps, it’s not the fiddles, the pedal steel, or the harmonica that drives the country in country music. It could be the togetherness—the culmination of signing, carrying across the airwaves, a mix of male-female and young-old voices, rolling downward through the stadium—until they, fittingly, meet the stage.
The country in country music could very well mean the country, and it means everyone and every voice, counts for something.
Maybe that’s why Zach was so emotional when thanking Denver profusely the entire evening—because he knew that those 70,000 voices were the real smokeshow.
Score: 10/10
MavStar 