Gavin Adcock has some thoughts on the recent viral moment involving fellow country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan and a 14-year-old autograph-seeking fan. Quite a few of them, actually, and none of them super nice.
The “A Cigarette” singer recently spoke to Rolling Stone‘s Nashville Now podcast in an interview in which he threw shade at Bryan over the way the singer responded to the teen on his socials. In a since-deleted TikTok comment after the second night of Bryan’s three-show stand at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19, Bryan wrote, “You’re not entitled after someone plays two and a half hours to a picture or a hello,” to which he amended the NSFW acronym “GOMD.”
“It wasn’t about not wanting to sign autographs after a show, it’s like letting a 14-year-old kid rant, without saying, ‘get off my d–k.’ You’re bigger than that,” Adcock told the podcast about Bryan. The singer known for kicking up dust with his comments added that he didn’t think Bryan’s public persona is what it seems.
“I think Zach Bryan puts on a big mask in his day-to-day life and sometimes he can’t help but rip it off and show his true colors,” said Adcock without offering any specific insight into the alleged “true colors” of the artist he admittedly does not know and has never met. “I wouldn’t say Zach Bryan is my buddy,” he told the pod. “I ain’t his buddy, he ain’t my buddy. I ain’t met the guy. I don’t need him.”
At press time a spokesperson for Bryan had not responded to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Adcock signed to Warner Music Nashville in 2024 and released his debut album, Actin’ Up Again, and followed up this month with the just-released 24-song Own Worst Enemy LP. In June, the singer made headlines not for his own music, but for his thoughts on Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning 2024 album Cowboy Carter, lamenting to a live audience that the singer’s country turn was blocking his own album from climbing into the top 3 on Apple Music’s country albums chart at the time.
“One of them’s Beyoncé — you can tell her we’re coming for her f–kin’ a–s,” he told the crowd. “That s–t ain’t country music and it ain’t ever been country music, and it ain’t gonna be country music,” he added. He later posted a video explaining his thoughts in which he said, “When I was a little kid, my mama was blasting some Beyoncé in the car. I’ve heard a ton of Beyonce songs and I actually remember her Super Bowl halftime show being pretty kick-a– back in the day. But I really don’t believe that her album should be labeled as country music. It doesn’t sound country, it doesn’t feel country, and I just don’t think that people that have dedicated their whole lives to this genre and this lifestyle should have to compete or watch that album just stay at the top, just because she’s Beyoncé.”
Adcock was back at it again this week, when he appeared to call out singer-songwriter Charley Crockett, who earlier this week posted a long Instagram message speaking out in support of Beyoncé and her album following Adcock’s comments.
“Hey country folks. @beyonce ain’t the source of your discontent. It was 25 years of bro country. #1 country artist on earth listen’s to nothing but rap,” Crockett wrote. “Openly says he doesn’t really know any country music. Gotta respect his honesty. The machine points to a black woman who’s making a statement about marginalized people being removed from the conversation altogether, and somehow we all act like the entire pop industry didn’t just ambush roots music. These ‘country boys’ been *singing* over trap beats for years.”
Though he didn’t call out Adcock by name, Crockett ended with the quip, “I don’t need to put down a Black woman to advance my music. That’s just embarrassing to the idea of America and I got no respect for it.”
Adcock appeared to respond in kind on Tuesday, tweeting, “Somebody needs to tell the ‘act’ that has let out (the cover) of James town ferry 6 times he should just work on letting out quality original music.” Though he didn’t call him out by name, Adcock appeared to be targeting Crockett, who first released his version of “Jamestown Ferry” — the song made famous by Tanya Tucker in 1972 — on his 2017 Lil G.L.’s Honky Tonk Jubilee album, then included it on his 2023 Live From the Ryman LP and remixed it for inclusion on this year’s Lonesome Drifter album.
“I got more cows–t under my pinky then you have seen your whole fu–in’ life. Hank sr called and asked about the cosplay cowboy,” Adcock said. At press time a spokesperson for Crockett had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.