What an incredible gift, and a piece of music history that’s truly priceless now. This week, Zach Bryan released his lengthy 25-song album With Heaven on Top, which is right in his wheelhouse in terms of his Springsteen-inspired, horn-instrument-heavy sonic style as of late, coupled with the type of heart-wrenching gut-punches fans know and love for him… there’s something for everyone. Of course, it’s been a long time coming, as he announced the album in July of 2025, marking another milestone in what has been a very impressive last 12 months, where Bryan has seen some of the highest highs of his career, primarily selling his catalog for a staggering $350 million dollars, becoming the eighth highest-selling country artist of all time according to the RIAA and, most notably, setting the record for highest-attended concert in U.S. history when he performed to a crowd of 112,408 at Michigan Stadium. That incredible success has also come with dome drama in his personal life, which you have no doubt heard about, and he remains one of the most polarizing figures at the forefront of country music, though I can’t imagine this record won’t be hugely successful and well-received by fans nonetheless. And today, Zach released a fully-acoustic version of the album, as he previously explained that he made the decision to do that in anticipation for the fact that fans will complain about the production being too sleek and the sound in general, so he decided to just go ahead and release raw recordings, mistakes included, to satisfy which ever style his fans prefer: “I’m assuming this record is just like all the other ones and there’s gonna be a billion people saying it’s over produced and s***** so I sat down in a room by myself and recorded all the songs acoustically so I didn’t have to hear everyone whine about more stuff. There’s mistakes and I didn’t redo any of them but this’ll be out three days after ‘With Heaven On Top’ drops tomorrow. This was a painting hanging on the wall that we recorded all the songs in when we got there.” To be honest, most of Zach’s music is already super stripped down and lo-fi, so it’s hard to imagine people complain that much about it being over-produced. I mean, it’s kind of his signature sound, but must admit, I love this concept, and I think it’s something every artist should do, honestly… Once again in writing about the album today, Zach almost seemed a little annoyed in a way about doing it, saying it was for “all the weird audiophiles” that, no matter what kind of music he puts out, just want to hear Zach and his guitar. Of course, that is the kind of music that first helped his career explode, and fans often do have a hard time letting their favorite artist experiment or do anything differently than the kind of music they first fell in love with, which I admire, I’m probably very guilty of too. He explained out simple the recording process was, and I certainly think it should satisfy any complaints about the production of the new record (which is as simple as it gets already for someone on a major label who is as huge as Zach, but I digress… “‘With Heaven on Top (Acoustic)’ is out now. This one’s for all the weird audiophiles that no matter how much I put into a record will always miss just a guitar & me. Like I said, it’s just me in a room with a mic and guitar and a very pretty girl and a very small dog. Love you guys and hope you enjoy it.” He also shared that, interestingly enough, his new wife Samantha gave him Bob Weir’s Telecaster guitar, which is the one he had on the road for years, and considering the founding member of the Grateful Dead passed away at the age of 78-years old on Saturday, so the timing couldn’t be more crazy: “Irrelevant but rest in peace to Bob Weir that guy f****** rocked. The day Sammy and me got hitched, she gave me a present and I opened it and it was his telecaster from all his days on the road. We all love you and we will all miss you if this wasn’t previously planned to release today I would have left this alone and let the world be.” Weir was known for playing his beloved 1956 Fender Telecaster, named “Wolfie” for its wolf-themed finish, though it’s unclear if that’s the exact one he has now, or if it was another guitar he had on the road all those years. Either way, that’s got to be one of the coolest wedding gifts ever…. View this post on Instagram Here’s a look at their gorgeous ceremony in Spain: View this post on Instagram And the first look at them as husband and wife: View this post on Instagram “Say Why” “With Heaven On Top” “Plastic Cigarette” The post Zach Bryan Says His Wife, Samantha, Gave Him Bob Weir’s Legendary Guitar As A Wedding Gift Less Than Two Weeks Before The Grateful Dead Icon Passed Away first appeared on Whiskey Riff.