Zach Bryan's homespun tunes captivate at Enterprise Center – St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The country-edged star is way too hot to trot off into the sunset, as evidenced by his sold-out, two-night stand at Enterprise Center that began Thursday night.

He returns to Enterprise Center tonight with the Middle East and Levi Turner.

Bryan’s rise has been more than impressive. Just two years ago, he was performing at the county fair in Chesterfield. Since then, everything has blown up for him.

The prolific Oklahoma native’s first albums “DeAnn” (2019) and “Elizabeth” (2020), were followed by his 2022 triple album “American Heartbreak,” a Top 10 release. In 2023 he released a self-titled, No. 1, Grammy-winning album, along with the EP “Boys of Faith.”

Performing amid a modest setup in the round with projection screens and string lights hung overhead, Bryan and his seven-piece band worked their way through the standing-room-only crowd on the floor to get to the stage to get the show rolling.

They launched into “Overtime” from the self-titled album, followed by “Open the Gate” from “American Heartbreak” and “Godspeed” from “DeAnn” (with “I love you St. Louis” thrown into the middle of the first verse), setting the concert on course for what would be a strong, two-hour showing from the rising star.

Bryan, wearing a black St. Louis T-shirt, paused early on in the show for a funny story. He shared that when he was 17, he scraped his name into the Gateway Arch with a key, and was apprehended by “Arch cops.”

It’s that type of relatability that serves Bryan well.

Bryan specializes in homespun tunes without reconfiguring the wheel by any means. But his likeability factor is obvious. Fans sang along loudly with every song, whether prompted to or not, creating a communal atmosphere.

Another impressive thing about Bryan is how at ease he is on stage, commanding it in the most natural way, while wowing those fans firmly implanted in the palm of his hands.

Not standing in the same spot for more than a verse or chorus at a time, Bryan continually circled the stage, going from microphone to microphone facing different sides of the packed house as he whipped his way through his albums spotlighting songs such as “Fifth of May,” “Condemned,” “Oklahoma Smokeshow” and “Highway Boys.”

Before performing “Oklahoma City,” he explained most of his band is made of up guys he went to high school with in Oklahoma.

Bryan also gave the crowd of sampling of his next album with the title track “The Great American Bar Scene.” He says the new album will be released later this year.

After the strong triple punch of “Burn, Burn, Burn,” “Hey Driver” and “Quittin’ Time” at show’s end, Bryan returned to the stage for an encore, an explosive and epic take on “Revival.”

Bryan couldn’t have chosen a better pair of support acts to take the stage for him than the Middle East and Levi Turner. Both acts impressively delivered melodic, alt-Americana sets that readied the crowd for Bryan’s arrival.