University of Michigan Makes Music History: A Weekend of Zach Bryan

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mich chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

On September 27, 2025, Zach Bryan made musical history, setting the record for the largest ticketed concert audience in U.S. history. He played to a crowd of over 112,000 fans alongside special guests John Mayer, Ryan Bingham, and Joshua Sloan. The concert took place at the University of Michigan’s very own “Big House” stadium, the first time the venue had ever been used for a concert. I was lucky enough to be one of the faces in the crowd. In this article, I’ll take you through my experience at the Zach Bryan concert!

Friday

The weekend kicked off with a panel from Zach Bryan’s team on how he sold out the Big House. It was held at the Ross School of Business in partnership with the Michigan Music Business Club (MMBC). The panel was super informative and gave me a behind-the-scenes perspective on what goes into setting up a concert, especially one this large. Merchandise lines also started forming on Friday: two by the Big House and one on Main Street. Even though I didn’t get merch on Friday, it was a perfect opportunity for Michigan students to get a head start before the rest of the crowd traveled in.

Saturday

My roommate and I started our busy day off by getting merch. We got in line on Main Street around 10 a.m., and it was already wrapped around the block. We waited an hour for merchandise in the scorching heat; it was painful but totally worth it. All of the merchandise was super cute and University of Michigan-themed! It was so hard to choose from all the options. I ended up buying the maize and blue hoodie with the Big House Stadium printed on the back and the Zach Bryan jersey. Starving, we went to our favorite coffee shop, Argus Farm Stop on Liberty Street. I got a vanilla latte, and my roommate got a vanilla matcha. It was the perfect treat after melting in the heat all morning.

After going back to our dorm, my roommate and I met up with friends and got ready to take pictures in the Law Quad. I wore a white lace dress and teal cowboy boots from a boutique in Nashville, perfect for the occasion. The Law Quad is my favorite spot on campus to take photos, as it’s so scenic and ideal for pictures.

My friends and I got to the stadium around 7 p.m., just in time to catch John Mayer opening the show. We stopped to get food, and then headed to our seats. It was so different seeing the Big House transformed into a concert venue. The stage was a square and was situated in the middle of the field, with floor seats surrounding each side. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter where you sit in the Big House; every seat has a great view. The sound inside the stadium was crystal clear, and there were four screens on stage, as well as the two stadium screens, so everyone could see the performance perfectly.

John Mayer played ten songs, my favorite being “Gravity.” It took half an hour between John Mayer’s set ending and Zach Bryan’s set starting. The anticipation was killing me. Around 9:30 p.m., red, white, and blue smoke started to rise from the stage, and the concert began. It was so exhilarating hearing the first guitar note in the song “Overtime” reverberate through the stadium. It’s truly amazing how music can connect 112,000 people gathered in the Michigan Stadium just to see the same artist.

My favorite songs from the show were “East Side of Sorrow,” “Oklahoma Smokeshow,” “Better Days” (with a guest appearance from John Mayer), “Burn, Burn, Burn,” and, of course, the 20-minute-long rendition of “Revival.” “Revival” was especially memorable, as each member of the band was highlighted in their own solo. The fiddles, guitar, bass, trumpets, and every other instrument got their moment to shine before this record-breaking crowd. The crowd and the band all appeared so genuinely happy and carefree. My friends and I danced the entire night, screaming the lyrics to our favorite songs so loudly that I lost my voice the next day. It was an unforgettable experience to share a record-breaking concert with so many different people for the sake of loving music, even if it was just for two and a half hours.