Zach Bryan confesses he drank ‘15 beers a day’ as part of ‘perfect routine’
Zach Bryan confesses he drank ‘15 beers a day’ as part of ‘perfect routine’
Lauren MartinezThu, October 22, 2026 at 12:42 PM UTC
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Zach Bryan opens up about his past drinking -Credit:Youtube/Zach Bryan (Youtube/Zach Bryan)
Zach Bryan is getting candid about his past relationship with alcohol, revealing that he was frequently intoxicated when he wrote nearly every hit song of his career and that he once drank as many as 15 beers a day.
The country singer, 30, opened up with the surprise admission in a chat with Hollywood actor Matthew McConaughey, as part of the release of his latest EP, Young Manhood and Other Donatable Organs.
Now, after he waded into controversy that enveloped Ed Sheeran by performing at Gillette Stadium in a shirt with the message “Free Palestine” emblazoned on the front, the singer is opening up about his own struggles, even admitting that while his drinking was part of a “perfect routine,” it also led him to have severe panic attacks.
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“When I got in the throes of drinking f-g 15 beers in a day and I kept going with that cycle, I started getting these really, really severe panic attacks where my whole body went numb, and I thought I was going to have a stroke and die,” he said in his sit down with McConaughey.
Bryan shared that his doctor diagnosed him with panic disorder and suggested quitting alcohol, he also revealed that he had relied on drinking to manage his stage fright.
“So I used to get on stage. Here’s my routine, I used to think this was the perfect routine, No show could ever go bad if I did this: work out, shower, play my guitar, listen to Bon Iver, drink four beers,” he recalled.
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Bryan confessed it helped “ease his pain,” he would then drink after a show as well, and then continue repeating the cycle when he would wake up the next day and have another show booked.
Bryan opened up during a chat with Matthew McConaughey -Credit:Youtube/Zach Bryan
Now performing sober, Bryan said that it is “more scary” but he also finds his time on stage “more enjoyable” now.
Also admitting he was previously convinced his success as a songwriter was tied to his alcohol use, he was afraid that he was “never going to have a good song again” if he wasn’t drinking, which makes the new project more meaningful, as he said he “wrote every word sober” and “sang every word sober.”
The admission comes after Bryan waded into the political world with his music, initially addressing ICE raids with the song Bad News in October 2025, with lyrics of, “My friends are all degenerates but they’re all I got/The generational story of dropping the plot/I heard the cops come, cocky motherf-s ain’t they/and ICE is going to come, bust down your door/Try to build a house no one builds no more/But I got a telephone/Kids are all scared and alone.”
Zach Bryan admitted to drinking up to 15 beers each day due to his struggles with stage fright and fears he needed alcohol to have success -Credit:Getty Images
He also waded in political messaging by wearing a free Palestine shirt during a show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on October 2, just weeks after Ed Sheeran was plunged into drama over Macklemore being dropped from his tour due to his own Anti-Israel messaging at a show in New Jersey.
Sheeran reportedly dropped Macklemore from his tour because of pressure from stadium owners, most notably, Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium.
Bryan’s chat with McConaughey also comes after the actor also waded into political discussions with a divisive social media video over the weekend, where he encouraged voters to vote independently ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Bryan is now performing sober and releasing his first EP that was created while he was sober -Credit:Getty Images
“They’ve been telling us for years that an independent vote is a wasted vote,” he said in the video on Instagram. “Well, a great question of our times is, has that wasted vote been working out for you?”
The post sparked speculation he was considering a run as an independent in 2028, and also saw fans brand him as “irresponsible” for sharing the message ahead of the midterms, which are expected to see Democrats recapture control of the House of Representatives, and try to also take control of the Senate for the final two years of Donald Trump’s second term.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
