Zach Bryan’s latest record, With Heaven On Top, starts with a poem. “Bought a house from a man in New York,” he says in his no-nonsense drawl. “This house had four small apartments in it when he bought it in ’78. Said he had seen children grow old and elderly people die in each little apartment. Said he didn’t change the wooden floors for 16 years ’cause he knew where each scuff came from.” From there Bryan launches into an aching meditation on the water-rush of time with this building, inspired by his new Manhattan home, at the center.
Time has indeed moved quickly for the Oklahoma-raised country music sensation. Just eight years ago, he was serving in the Navy and releasing his acoustic, lo-fi songs, recorded in the barracks, on YouTube. While still on active duty, he made his first album, DeAnn, in a rented Airbnb, using pillows and mattresses on the wall for better acoustics. Success came fast for the artist whose writerly lyrics and DIY ethos resonated in a world where authenticity is at a premium. Before being honorably discharged in 2021, he landed a deal with Warner Records, with whom he has produced several multiplatinum studio albums. Last year, he broke national records for the largest single-ticketed concert. All of it has meant that he and his wife Samantha are spending more time in New York City.
In Zach and Samantha Bryan’s Manhattan home, designed by Somerset House, 1950s Paolo Buffa armchairs surround a French Art Deco table atop a floor covering by Rug & Kilim. A Pierre Chapo chair pulls up to Bryan’s midcentury Jacques Adnet desk.
ART: Franz Leitenmeier