Zach Bryan, Billboard’s top new artist of 2023, took the world by storm over the last couple of years. From his single, “Something in the Orange” (2022) with over 88 million streams, to his first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs titled “I Remember Everything” (2023), his success has been growing at a rapid pace for the last couple of years. Now his 2o24 tour, Quittin’ Time started up March 6th and went up until April 12th when Bryan took a week break. The second leg of the tour started April 25th, right here in Des Moines, IA. I was lucky enough to get front-row tickets that night, and experience what I would say, was the best concert I have ever been to.

Now, the beginning of the show started off a bit slow. The first opener of the night, Levi Turner, came out at 7:0o pm. The new artist with only one album out was dull and didn’t really catch my attention. The second opener for the night, a band called The Middle East, came out half an hour later, and while they were good, they didn’t keep my attention for longer than 10 minutes.

By this time I am shaking with anticipation for Zach Bryan to make his way to the stage. I could feel the excitement all around me, the pit going crazy as set workers organized the stage for tonight’s show. When the overhead lights died down and the stage lit up a florescent white, the crowd roared. I had never been more excited and nervous.

I was extremely impressed the entire night. The song choices were flawless, and I was impressed and pleasantly surprised that Bryan didn’t just play songs on his new album. The set list played some of his popular songs, but also dated back to old EPs and singles that only the die-hard fan would know. It made great variety for the type of songs, upbeat and slow, and lyrically moved me and the whole crowd the entire night.

His interaction with the audience was fun and carefree. I love how some of the songs were changed to enhance Bryan’s already exhilarating performance. This gave the audience many times to interact with him and the band. With moments people could sing their hearts out or chant a certain phrase made for a really interactive show that many artists have trouble pulling off.

The run time of almost 2 hours and 30 minutes felt like nothing, and I wanted more by the time the band did their last bow. The encore was insane as well. The lights were flashing, the band was on fire, and Bryan’s hit ‘Revival’  was continuously being sung throughout the whole crowd as he introduced his partners on stage. I loved that part because I feel as though many artists do not give enough credit to those playing the instruments behind them. It was extremely unique and an experience I will never forget, being able to sing my heart out to those lyrics for 10 minutes straight.

As the night went on, I never got bored as there was always something to watch on the screens, or a performer to watch on stage. I liked that he put clips of his music videos, at-home footage, and videos of him and his friends on the big screens. This gave people something to do if they didn’t know the lyrics and allowed everyone in the room to stay engaged with Zach Bryan and his epic crew.

Kate Weieneth, a senior at ADM High School attended the Friday night concert on April 26th. She attended with her family and boyfriend, and had been waiting what felt like forever for this concert. She said, “There was always so much happening, you never got bored… He is worth every penny to go see and I would 100% go again if I ever had the chance.”

The Quittin’ Time Tour is definitely worth experiencing no matter what city or state you are from. Zach Bryan puts everything into his performance and you’ll go home with his song stuck in your head and the night stuck in your heart.