Zach Bryan Shares Another New Song Featuring Grumpy, ‘With Heaven On Top’, Following CMA Awards Absence

Zach Bryan has taken to Instagram to offer fans another sneak preview of new music, with the Oklahoma singer-songwriter sharing a snippet of an unreleased track, ‘With Heaven On Top’. The post has since been deleted, but on November 28th, Zach uploaded a second snippet of ‘With Heaven On Top’ to his Instagram Stories, seemingly hinting that the track is being readied for an imminent release.

The intricate offering features harmonies from up-and-coming New York artist, Grumpy, who also appears on Zach's latest two singles, ‘High Road’ and ‘This World's a Giant’. Shortly after the ‘Revival’ hitmaker uploaded the clip of ‘With Heaven On Top’, Grumpy confirmed via their Instagram Stories that their vocals are indeed on the track.

The new teaser finds Zach Bryan and Grump crooning wistfully about overcoming recent challenges across a vibrant, bright acoustic guitar riff, with the duo finding comfort in the knowledge that, whatever happens, Heaven will always be right above them. The title could be an endearing nod to Grumpy's given name, Heaven Schmitt, but it's unclear whether this was intentional or a happy accident.

Given the fact that Grumpy, who veers more towards an indie and alternative sound, rather than folk and country, also offers guest vocals on ‘High Road’ and ‘This World's a Giant’, it seems Zach is working extensively with the rising artist for his next album.

In a Rolling Stone conversation with his idol and ‘Sandpaper’ collaborator, Bruce Springsteen, in October, Zach Bryan confirmed he already has “14 songs” penned for the project.

Previously, Zach Bryan has hinted that his The Great American Bar Scene follow-up record may end up being entirely acoustic, and judging by the stripped-back nature of this clip of ‘With Heaven On Top’, it looks like Zach is doubling down on this.

The new demo arrives just days after the 2024 CMA Awards, during which Zach Bryan - who was nominated for Musical Event of the Year in honour of his much-loved Kacey Musgraves collaboration, ‘I Remember Everything’ - was conspicuous by his absence.

Zach has made his distaste for awards shows - and indeed Nashville's country scene in general - clear throughout his career. It's therefore unsurprising that he failed to make an appearance at the ceremony, especially with Zach continuing to keep a low-profile following his contentious split from BFF's Podcast co-host, Brianna LaPaglia. In early November, Brianna accused Zach of emotional abuse, with the ‘Something in the Orange’ artist yet to respond to his ex-girlfriend's allegations.

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