the good he'll do

Reluctant music superstar Zach Bryan heads to Houston on new U.S. stadium tour

Bryan heads to NRG as part of his huge stadium tour.

Zach Bryan/Instagram

Is the multi-talented Zach Bryan the greatest thing to happen to country music — or even music as a whole — in years? We’re absolutely biased in saying so, but let’s look at the numbers. Bryan’s May 19 show at Toyota Center, part of his Burn Burn Burn North American Tour, sold out immediately and marked the largest attendance for a country artist in Toyota Center history.

So yeah, he’s kind of a big deal.

Now, Houstonians can pack an even bigger stadium next summer as Bryan has just announced a big July 27, 2023 show at NRG Stadium in support of his wildly anticipated tour.

Dubbed The Quittin Time 2024 Tour, Bryan’s nationwide trek kicks off in Chicago at the United Center on March 6. He’ll perform with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit plus Levi Turner as supporting acts. The NRG Stadium show marks 19 just-announced additional dates.

Bryan fans should head to the pre-sale registration site here — like, right now — to get in line for the pre-sale, which starts Wednesday, October 18. Regular sales kick off on Friday, October 20.

This surprise NRG announcement follows yet another surprise from Bryan, who suddenly dropped his new Boys Of Faith EP, featuring Bon Iver and Noah Kahan, just weeks ago in late September.

His 2022 triple album American Heartbreak (a must-listen release) debuted at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200, marking the biggest first week for a country album in 2022. Known for his epic live shows, Bryan released All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live from Red Rocks), a live album recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, on Christmas Day last year.

This year, the reluctant superstar scored the Academy of Country Music Award for New Male Artist of the Year. (That certainly calls his snub for Best Country Solo Performance in the Grammy Awards for “Something in the Orange” even more so). He released his eponymous, fourth studio album in August, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

His most recent single from the album, “I Remember Everything” (with fellow star Kacey Musgraves), managed to top the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock Songs, and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts all at once, being the first song ever to do so and literally making music history.

Not too shabby for a Navy brat from Oologah, Oklahoma (by way of Okinawa, Japan where he was born when his family was stationed there). Boasting the kind of country music origin story that seems written for a movie, Bryan himself was an active member of the U.S. Navy when he launched his career via YouTube in 2017 — while he was literally on the naval base. He was only just honorably discharged in October 2021 after eight years of service — and the fact that he signed to Warner Records and played the legendary Grand Ole Opry that year.

Oh, and adding to his everyman/folk American hero status: He made sure that the most expensive ticket for his Burn Burn Burn tour show was a mere $156 — a steal compared to what fans have been forking out (think $450 plus) before he took over.

“I believe working class people should still be able to afford tickets to shows,” Bryan declared on social media. “I am so tired of people saying things can't be done about this massive issue while huge monopolies sit there stealing money from working class people. Also, to any songwriter trying to make relatable music for the working class man or woman’ should pride themself on fighting for the people who listen to the words they’re singing.”

See? He’s kind of a big deal.

Crafting irresistible hooks and the kind of poetic lyricism that harks to John Prine, Bob Dylan, or Jim Croce, Bryan can take listeners through wine-fueled romance, bro trips, and the dark loneliness of the cowboy life track by track. Songs like “Tishomingo” and “Good I’ll Do” became instant Google and Shazam searches when they appeared on Yellowstone (Bryan performed on the Taylor Sheridan hit, too.)

His Quittin Time 2024 Tour follows his trend of playing — and usually selling out — major U.S. stadiums. He’ll perform in major cities like New York City (two nights), Los Angeles (three nights), and Chicago — illustrating his major crossover appeal. He’ll gig with the aforementioned Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Turnpike Troubadours, Sheryl Crow, The War And Treaty, Mt. Joy, Sierra Ferrell, The Middle East, Matt Maeson, and Levi Turner.

Here are the new additions to The Quittin Time 2024 Tour. Find the full tour dates, ticket information, and more

here.

March 30 Belmont Park, NY UBS Arena
March 31 Belmont Park, NY UBS Arena
May 31 Oakland, CA Oakland Alameda County Coliseum
June 2 Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena
June 3 Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena
June 4 Los Angeles, CA Crypto.com Arena
June 14 Denver, CO Empower Field at Mile High
June 20 Detroit, MI Ford Field
June 29 Nashville, TN Nissan Stadium
July 17 Foxborough, MA Gillette Stadium
July 21 Orlando, FL Amway Center
July 22 Sunrise, FL Amerant Bank Arena
July 25 New Orleans, LA Caesars Superdome
July 27 Houston NRG Stadium
August 11 Atlanta, GA Mercedes-Benz Stadium
August 26 Grand Forks, ND Alerus Center
December 12 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
December 18 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center
December 19 Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center

Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

movies film

the good he'll do

Reluctant music superstar Zach Bryan heads to Houston on new U.S. stadium tour

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