Zach Bryan thrills sold-out home-state crowd in OKC arena debut: Highlights and set list

By the time Zach Bryan got to the encore of his first of two back-to-back shows at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center, his feelings about returning to his home state seemed about to overflow.

"I got a lot of love for Oklahoma. It's in my blood, and it's where I was raised. I want to try to not mess this song up and not cry, so bear with me," said the country music star, who hails from Oologah.

As the prolific singer, songwriter and producer played "Oklahoman Son" — a poignant ode to the Sooner State that's so new it didn't have a confirmed title when he performed it last August during his two-night Tulsa home stand at BOK Center — the unshed tears in his eyes could clearly be seen on the giant video screens positioned above the massive stage.

Although his voice wavered with emotion, Bryan kept on crooning the acoustic ballad with plenty of backup from the sold-out crowd of more than 17,000 fans, who eagerly sang along to all 20-plus songs he and his bandmates played during his nearly two-hour headlining set Friday night.

Making his way from coast to coast on his "The Quittin' Time Tour," Bryan, 28, is playing the second of his two Paycom Center concerts Saturday night, with Australian indie folk band The Middle East and Georgia musician Levi Turner as his opening acts.

Here are the highlights of the first of Bryan's May 17-18 OKC concerts:

With thunderous sold-out crowds, OKC arena debut puts Zach Bryan in elite company

Making his Paycom Center debut, Bryan sold out both his back-to-back shows, with each concert expected to bring in more than 17,000 ticketholders.

The Navy veteran-turned-arena-headliner is expected to become just the fourth recording artist to have sold more than 30,000 tickets across two or more shows at Paycom Center, following fellow Oklahoman Garth Brooks, Luke Combs and Drake.

"It feels real good to be back in Oklahoma. ... Thank you guys so much for being here," Bryan said as soon as he took the stage with his band Friday night.

"Me and all these guys, we grew up in a really, really small town ... like two hours from here. My mother's family, she grew up in Chandler."

Earlier this week, Bryan pledged on social media that all profits from his merchandise sales at his Friday night OKC show would be donated to help another small Oklahoma town: the Osage County community of Barnsdall, which is recovering from a deadly EF4 tornado.

As he and his bandmates kicked off his first show in the downtown Oklahoma City arena with the raucous combination of "Overtime" and "Open the Gate," the Friday night fans quickly demonstrated that the OKC Thunder aren't the only Oklahomans who can crank up the volume in Loud City to mind-boggling decible levels.

Bryan's thunderous audience cheered the opening chords of every song, wailed along to every lyric and proved ready to take the spotlight anytime the star turned a verse or chorus over to his fervent followers.

When he and his cohorts kept the crowd waiting nearly five minutes for the Friday night encore, thousands of people yelled, clapped, stomped and even chanted "OKC, OKC."

Zach Bryan plays 'Oklahoma City' in OKC and shares the story behind the song

Born in Okinawa, Japan, while his family was stationed overseas with the U.S. Navy but raised outside Claremore in the hamlet of Oologah, Bryan has never been shy about tapping his Oklahoma roots for both the lyrics and music of his songs.

Still, his fans were unabashedly thrilled to hear him play his wistful ode "Oklahoma City" in OKC, and the platinum-selling hitmaker seemed equally eager to share the story behind the song with them.

"Both sides of my family are born-and-raised Oklahomans. And I don't mean to be a sap, but when I was in the Navy, my grandfather, he calls me and he goes, 'Hey, man, you gotta get home from deployment. I think I'm dying over here.' And I was like, 'Well, wait for me to get home,'" Bryan said.

"As soon as my wheels touched down in Oklahoma City, he passed away. And that's why I wrote this song, so it means a lot to me."

Zach Bryan teases new single coming next week from upcoming album 'Great American Bar Scene'

Along with playing established fan-favorites "Tishomingo" and "Oklahoma Smokeshow," Bryan added a Sooner State twist to his new party anthem "The Great American Bar Scene," which he turned into "The Great Okahoman Bar Scene."

The change-up so delighted the home-state faithful that he finshed the title track to his forthcoming album by saluting the fans with a beer and telling them, "Cheers to the great state of Oklahoma."

A viral YouTube star turned major-label recording artist, Bryan again excited the OKC audience with the big news that he will be releasing a new single from "The Great American Bar Scene" on next Friday, May 24.

After the concert, he revealed on Instagram that the new single will be called "Pink Skies (Eulogy)."

Oklahoma country singer's OKC show is so fun he forgets what day it is

As with his "Burn, Burn, Burn Tour," Bryan's "The Quittin' Time Tour" boasts an in-the-round setup that literally puts the country music star and his big, boisterous band at center stage.

Constantly wielding one of his guitars, Bryan rotated among the four microphone stands ringing the stage, allowing him to play to all sides of the OKC arena audience.

From his breakthough tracks like "Heading South" and "Condemned" and vivid new story-songs like "Nine Ball" and "Hey Driver" to sing-along anthems like "God Speed" and "Burn, Burn, Burn" to his Grammy-winning ballad "I Remember Everything," he kept the revolutions going the entire set.

Evidently, the country-rocker was having such a good time that he forgot what day it was, referring to it more than once as a Thursday night and even apologizing to any fans who would have to get up and go to work the next day. His fans and his bandmates combined their efforts to set him straight.

"It is Friday, huh?" Bryan observed before firing up his scorching set closer "Quittin' Time."

On Saturday, the singer-songwriter took to X (formerly Twitter) to thank the folks who corrected him and "really got my week straightened out for me"

An OSU fan, Bryan invites a former OU football star to join his onstage 'Revival'

Successfully holding back his tears on "Oklahoman Son" to open his encore, Bryan offered thanks one more time for his faithful fans before taking them to church with his usual rowdy big finish, "Revival."

Typically running more than 10 minutes, the rollicking boot-stomper features the members of Bryan's band showing off their skills, while the frontman's father and other special guests take the stage to sing along.

Early in his Friday night set, Bryan, a vocal Oklahoma State University devotee, riled up many of the University of Oklahoma faithful in the OKC audience by pondering, "We gotta have some Pokes fans in here, right?"

Still, Bryan was willing to share the stage during his OKC "Revival" with former OU football star Lane Johnson. Perhaps it was more of the hitmaker's home-state goodwill in play, but it probably had more to do with the one-time Sooner standout's current roster position with the Philadelphia Eagles, another team that counts Bryan as a diehard fan.

As a follow-up to his Paycom Center debut, Bryan will bring "The Quittin' Time Tour" back to his home state later this year for three consecutive nights — Dec. 12, 13 and 14 — at Tulsa's BOK Center.

Zach Bryan 'Quittin' Time Tour' May 17 OKC set list

• "Overtime"

• "Open the Gate"

• "God Speed"

• "The Great American Bar Scene"

• "Fifth of May"

• "Tishomingo"

• "Oklahoma City"

• "Nine Ball"

• "East Side of Sorrow"

• "Tourniquet"

• "Condemned"

• "Oklahoma Smokeshow"

• "Dawns"

• "Highway Boys"

• "I Remember Everything"

• "Heavy Eyes"

• "Heading South"

• "Burn, Burn, Burn"

• "Hey Driver"

• "Quittin' Time"

Encore

• "Oklahoman Son"

• "Revival"

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma music star Zach Bryan plays OKC arena: Highlights and set list