“One of the Reasons I Write Songs”: Zach Bryan Toasts Ed Sheeran, Reshares Sheeran's ‘Oklahoman Son’ Cover

Zach Bryan has taken some time out from his sprawling North American motorcycle road-trip to post a flurry of Instagram Stories, with the ‘Something in the Orange’ singer-songwriter paying homage to one of his biggest influences, Ed Sheeran.

Zach Bryan has reshared Ed Sheeran's brief acoustic cover of ‘Oklahoman Son’, alongside the caption, “mans one of the reasons I write songs. Thank you brother x a million”. The track appears on Bryan's 2024 album, The Great American Bar Scene.

Although undoubtedly a heartwarming moment, it's unclear as to what prompted Zach Bryan to discover Ed Sheeran's clip of ‘Oklahoman Son’ now, given the fact that Sheeran first uploaded it back in July 2024. The video in question sees the ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker idly strumming his acoustic guitar and singing a couple of lines from Bryan's ‘Oklahoman Son’ before walking onto the stage.

Nonetheless, it's nice to see Zach Bryan toasting one of his musical forefathers. With Ed Sheeran continuing to tease a potential foray into country music, we're wondering whether the duo might one day link up for a star-studded collaboration.

Sheeran delivered a stellar set with Bryan's ‘Sarah's Place’ duet partner, Noah Kahan, at Santa's Pub in Nashville earlier in May, after performing with Post Malone at Stagecoach in April and Megan Moroney at Music City's Bluebird Café the month before.

We wonder if Ed Sheeran might have plans to drop another blockbuster album of duets in the mould of his No. 6 Collaborations Project - and if he does, there's no doubt that a joint track with Zach Bryan would set the country music world ablaze.

With Sheeran in the middle of his rollout for Play, which appears to be more pop-leaning, it seems we'll have to wait a little longer for the ‘Thinking Out Loud’ trailblazer's country music pivot. In the meantime, Bryan is thought to be working on his Motorbreath album and With Heaven On Top EP while he rides across the US, with fans holding out hope that there will be an official release date before too long.

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Featured photo by Laura Ord