The Oklahoma country-rock phenom Zach Bryan, one of the biggest music-business success stories of the past few years, will spend much of this year on his Quittin Time tour. At various dates on that tour, Bryan’s shows will include openers like Sheryl Crow and Jason Isbell. Some of those nights, he’s playing football stadiums. Last night, the tour began with the first night of a three-night stand at Chicago’s United Center. In the middle of his set, Bryan brought out Kacey Musgraves, and they performed their massive duet “I Remember Everything” together for the first time.
Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves co-wrote “I Remember Everything,” and the track comes from the self-titled album that Zach Bryan released last year. The song was never pushed as a single, and it never got a music video or anything like that, but it still debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. Months later, it’s still in the top 10. It’s by far the biggest song that Zach Bryan or Kacey Musgraves has ever been involved in making. Bryan has performed solo versions of “I Remember Everything” a few times, but even those have been rare. So when Kacey Musgraves stepped onstage with Bryan last night, it was a big deal.
Kacey Musgraves is busy these days. Her new album Deeper Well comes out next week, and she just played Saturday Night Live last weekend. But she still made time for the first show on Zach Bryan’s big tour. Judging by fan videos from last night, Bryan is still touring with the in-the-round setup that he was using last year — a smart way to make a huge arena feel a little more intimate. Last night’s performance featured a few moments where he and Musgraves did the full duet thing, looking deep into each other’s eyes while singing. The crowd gave them a thunderous singalong. Watch it below.
Zach Bryan’s self-titled album is out now on Belting Bronco/Warner, and good luck getting tickets to any of the shows on his tour if you haven’t already. Kacey Musgraves is going on her own arena tour later this year, and she’ll be back in the Chicago area to play the Allstate Arena 9/12.
