'If there was a roof on the Phoenix Park, Zach Bryan would've blown it off'
The country singer performed to more than 60,000 on the first of his three nights in the Dublin park on Friday night. It's the first time that Phoenix Park has hosted such a large-scale event since Ed Sheeran in 2018.
The Grammy-Award winning star was greeted by a rapturous applause from tens of thousands of sweating fans as the sunshine came beating down on the gig.
Zach entertained fans with hits including Something In The Orange, Pink Skies and Heading South. A day before the gig, Zach was spotted arm wrestling a local in The Celt in Dublin's inner city centre.
He posted the video on his Instagram showing off the arm wrestling match, which saw him win over the pub goer. Speaking earlier in the week, Peter Aiken of Aiken Promotions said the Oklahoma star is 'the real deal', comparing Zach, 29, to Bruce Springsteen.
He said: 'He's the real deal. He's not country per se but he's very Springsteen. He's a great storyteller and a very dynamic performer – he has a lot of charisma.
'When you have 180,000 people here, they're going to know the words to every song; it's going to be a very unique, special atmosphere.
'His songs are about heartbreak and loss and all the things that people don't like talking about anymore,' he said.
'Maybe [those] in Dublin aren't aware of him, but people outside Dublin are very well aware of him.'
Mr Aiken revealed the demographic of fans who love Zach, saying most of his fans will be aged between 18-35 but only 10% of his tickets were bought in Dublin, according to Aiken Promotions.
'Normally for a big concert, say for Springsteen in Croke Park, 50% of our audience were from the greater Dublin area. For this, it's about 10%,' Mr Aiken said.
'There's a big crowd coming from the North and Donegal, Mayo. There's a big crowd flying in from the States. These big events, more and more, attract overseas visitors. People will like the adventure of coming to a different place.'
Zach plays to a sell out 180,000 over three nights this weekend until Sunday night. Gardai are advising fans to be mindful of neighbours and the wildlife this weekend.
Margaret Gormley, from the Office of Public Works, said: 'Yeah, obviously we don't recommend anyone to feed the deer, and we ask people to stay a minimum of 50 meters away from the deer. They are wild animals.
'We want everyone to enjoy their event, and we do ask everyone to use public transport and to keep to the surface paths within the Phoenix Park.
'The park is over 1700 acres, so we don't want anyone to get lost. We want them to come and have a very enjoyable event. And you know, it is over 180,000 people, so we just ask for everyone to have a great time at the concert, but also to leave no trace and to respect all our neighbours surrounding the Phoenix Park.'
Organisers are encouraging revellers to use public transport this weekend.
They warned that given that most attendees will be using the Park Gate entrance, they should leave at least 45 minutes to walk to the concert site.
Marathon Group is running special concert specific routes from Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin and orbital routes to the Phoenix Park. They will be dropping off in the Phoenix Park and pick up will be in the same place.
For those heading to the concerts tonight and Sunday, they are reminded that there is no parking available on the streets surrounding the venue or inside the Phoenix Park.
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