He’s come a very long way in a very short amount of time. Over the last several years, country music has seen a crop of absolutely massive stars take over the world of mainstream music, which has helped make it one of the most popular genres in music right now. Of course, artists like Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Ella Langley, and Zach Bryan are a huge part of that movement of sorts. And one of Zach’s very first show took place almost five years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina, when he joined former Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey for their ’22 and Troops’ benefit concert at The Fillmore. The duo played for a completely sold out crowd in an effort to raise money for the Christian McCaffrey Foundation, which supports both active duty and veteran military members who have suffered from PTSD as a result of their service. Christian is a huge fan of Zach and his music, and Zach was on the board of directors for the foundation, as well, though I’m not sure if that’s still the case. I wrote about that show at the time it happened, and this was well before Zach was the mainstream superstar he is now, and it was just a couple years after the release of his first viral video of “Heading South” he put out in 2019. You could feel the energy in the room, I still remember how much fun it was, and I remember someone standing near me saying at the time that they thought most of the people there were probably there for Christian, seeing as we were in Charlotte, just to give you some context as to how relatively unknown Zach was at the time. In an interview with the Panthers prior to the show, Christian talked about what he loved about Zach’s music and why it resonated with him so deeply after first hearing “Heading South”: “I loved it right away. That’s the kind of music I like. Words that mean something. You can hear it in his voice how much he means what he’s saying. He’s got a unique voice, and it’s more than just country. I relate to a lot of the songs in a lot of ways, so it’s easy listening for me. Also, I thought it was cool, I heard that song after living in the South for a few years now and that song is true. The South is a hell of a place, especially North Carolina.” Christian is an incredible pianist, and they’ve since performed together, most recently at the Madden Bowl ahead of the Super Bowl in February. Truly, it’s unreal (and kind of unfair) he could be so talented at so many things: Christian McCaffrey on the keys to start off his Foundation Benefit concert tonight to support 22 and Troops with @zachlanebryan. pic.twitter.com/Cg8hx7n9Sb — Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) July 3, 2021 Of course, since that evening in summer of 2021, Zach has become a household name and global music star, and this past weekend, he played a much bigger venue in Charlotte, putting on a show for tens of thousands of fans at Bank of America Stadium. He took some time to reflect on how much has changed since that show with Christian, saying it was one of his very first shows, when he was still active duty, pointing out that he had to “report back from duty the day after” that show. Zach was honorably discharged from the Navy in October of 2021, and surely he has to be amazed too about how this has all played out for him in such a short time frame: “Often moved to tears thinking about how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. One of our very first shows was in Charlotte many years ago for McCaffrey’s 22 and troops foundation while I was still active duty. I actually had to report back for duty the day after this. Went back this weekend and it was a show for the books. Thank you Charlotte for the kindness and thank you for always having faith in me. I’ll love ya forever and I’ll always be back.” It just goes to show what a few years, and a few hit albums, can do… View this post on Instagram The post Zach Bryan “Moved To Tears” Over How Much His Life Has Changed Since 2021 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.