Entertainment · Music · 2 hrs ago
Zach Bryan says quitting alcohol improved his life and music
Country singer Zach Bryan says he quit drinking after realizing he had a problem.
He said buying a 40-ounce beer at 3 a.m.
in a Seattle parking lot made him recognize that his drinking had become an issue.
Bryan said he first used alcohol to manage stage fright and often drank before and after performing.
He also feared he could not write good songs without drinking, because he had made earlier hits while intoxicated.
He says sobriety has improved his daily life and helped him enjoy writing again.
His new EP, *Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs*, is the first project he wrote and recorded without drinking.
The EP is evidence to Bryan that he can make music sober, and he says he thinks it is good.
Zach Bryan says quitting alcohol has improved his quality of life and helped him enjoy writing music again.
He said he recognized he had a problem after buying a 40-ounce beer at 3am in a Seattle parking lot.
Bryan said he first used alcohol to ease stage fright and worried he could not write good songs sober.
He said his EP Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs was the first project he wrote and recorded without drinking.
- Who
- Zach Bryan, a country music artist.
- What
- He says quitting alcohol improved his life and music.
- When
- He said in November 2025 that he had been sober for two months.
- Where
- He recalled recognizing his drinking problem in a Seattle parking lot.
- Why
- He said he realized he had an issue with drinking and wanted help.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Bryan said the trip left him thinking he needed help.
Bryan revealed he had quit drinking two months earlier.
His conversation with Matthew McConaughey was posted to YouTube, and his EP was released.
- Sober announcement
- November 2025
- Time sober at announcement
- Two months
- Turning point
- Buying a 40-ounce beer at 3am in a Seattle parking lot
- New EP
- Young Manhood & Other Donatable Organs
- First sober project
- Bryan said he wrote and sang every word sober
What people are saying
Quitting drinking has been really great. I enjoy writing again.
I feel this innocence I haven’t felt since I was like, 17.
This is the first project I’ve ever done that I didn’t drink a lick.