Zach Bryan has shared a new version of Memphis; The Blues, his duet originally recorded with John Moreland. The track arrives after Moreland shared some unsavoury posts seemingly about Bryan on social media.
The new version removes Moreland and instead features Bryan’s keyboardist, J.R. Carroll. Upon unveiling the new take of Memphis; The Blues, Bryan wrote on Instagram: “Promise is a promise. Honored [sic] to have done this with one of my best friends in the world. Catch us belting this in Europe and across the states all summer.”
Last month, Moreland took to his Instagram Stories and seemingly mocked Bryan’s $350 million deal with Warner Records. He captioned the story, “350 M is a lot of money to pay for the f***in off-brand version of me.” Fans who saw the story interpreted the statement as a direct stab at the Something In The Orange star.
The story was swiftly deleted, but not before it caught the attention of Bryan and his fans. As Countrytown previously reported, Bryan did not take kindly to Moreland’s post.
In a pointed response, Bryan announced plans to re-release their collaborative track, Memphis; The Blues, without Moreland’s contribution.
Bryan wrote, “Just saw this from an artist I’ve always respected and supported. Not trying to be dramatic, but refuse to have anyone with a problem with me on my records. Replacing Memphis the Blues. If it goes down for a bit this is the reason!”
He wasn’t kidding: Memphis; The Blues, which was featured on Bryan’s 2024 album The Great American Bar Scene, then disappeared from all streaming services, including YouTube. In response to the song being removed from streaming, Moreland wrote: “As far as I’m concerned, getting kicked off a Zach Bryan album is way f***ing cooler than being on a Zach Bryan album.”
Moreland added, “At this point, I’ve hung out with him five, six times. I don’t like this motherfucker. Like, am I supposed to be upset?” He continued by stating that if Bryan asked him to feature on the album again, he wouldn’t do it.
He also accused Bryan of being “a dickhead to my wife and my friends right in front of me every time I see him” and allegedly sharing “borderline racist jokes more than once” and bringing a 19-year-old girl to a bar. “I don’t like that person,” Moreland concluded.
The Great American Bar Scene was released last July. Bryan described the album as having the vibes of a “depressed and hopeful summer vacation.”
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
