“I'm Just Unbelievably Grateful”: Zach John King on Performing with Morgan Wallen in Arizona

As the excitement continues to build ahead of Zach John King's new collaboration with Bayker Blankenship, ‘Life Behind Bars’, the duo sat down with Holler to delve into the creative process behind the stellar track, which arrives this Friday (July 25th).

During the interview, which will be published in full later this week, Zach John King touched on his momentous on-stage link-up with Morgan Wallen in Arizona last weekend.

After being unveiled as a last-minute opener for both of Wallen's State Farm Stadium shows in Glendale, Arizona, King was invited out by the Sneedville megastar to perform his early fan-favourite anthem, ‘Up Down‘, in front of around 60,000 fans.

“I'm trying to find the words, man”, Zach John King confesses, before recounting, “Tuesday of last week, we got the call...[Morgan's] team was like, ‘Can y'all be ready this weekend?’ So we had three days, and we locked in, just tried not to mess it up”.

After his live-wire set on Friday, Wallen was undoubtedly impressed, with the ‘Last Night’ chart-topper asking King to join him for a rowdy duet of ‘Up Down’ the following evening.

What made this all the more special was the fact that King's loved ones flew out for an unexpected visit to watch his second set in Arizona, “We played the show on Friday, which was insane. Then, on Saturday, my family surprised me in Phoenix”.

As a result, the night would have been a spectacular occasion even if Zach John King had only delivered his opening set, and then watched Wallen's show with his family.

But Morgan Wallen decided to give Zach John King one more role in the night's proceedings, with the ‘Slow Down’ crooner emerging with Wallen for an electric take on ‘Up Down‘.

“I was like, ‘I'm first of four supporting slots. There's no way he's gonna call me up there’”, King reflects, before recalling when he got the invitation from Wallen to join him, “I finished my show, and he asked me...and I was like, ‘Yep, I'll do it!’ It's been kind of a blur, man, but I'm trying to take it all in. I'm just unbelievably grateful to that team for letting me have the opportunity...We're having some fun out there”.

After this strong opening weekend, Zach John King is teaming up with Morgan Wallen for the rest of his sprawling I'm the Problem Tour, with dates on the books in Washington, California, Ohio, Massachusetts, Ontario and Alberta throughout the summer.

It consolidates Zach John King's widely acknowledged status as a future star of the genre, with the ‘Wannabe Cowboy’ singer-songwriter operating within a unique space, combining the infectious, sleek melodies and hooks of mainstream radio with an alt-country-inspired grit and rawness, giving his sound an extra edge.

With his eagerly anticipated new collaboration with Bayker Blankenship, ‘Life Behind Bars’, dropping on Friday, we can't wait to see what else King has up his sleeve for 2025.

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