Zach Bryan was a surprise guest at this weekend’s Born & Raised Festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, popping up on Saturday to sing with Gabriella Rose during her afternoon set. But Bryan also seems to have seized the opportunity to confront Gavin Adcock, a Georgia country singer who has criticized Bryan and was scheduled to perform that same day.
In a video posted online, Bryan appears to scale a barbed-wire fence backstage and charge at a figure that appears to be Adcock, dressed in a vest and hat, before a security guard holds Bryan back. Adcock is seen pointing at Bryan as he descends the fence and lunges in Adcock’s direction. Reps for Bryan and Adcock did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.
“If they open up this fucking gate, I’ll fucking kill you,” Bryan appears to say in another video posted to Instagram. “I got a show to play, you clown son of a bitch,” Adcock seems to goad him, suggesting the encounter happened prior to Adcock’s performance.
Bryan’s beef with Adcock began back in July, when Adcock called out the “Something in the Orange” singer-songwriter for the way Bryan responded to a teenage fan on social media who lamented waiting in vain for Bryan to sign an autograph following a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. “You’re not entitled after someone plays two and a half hours to a picture or a hello,” Bryan wrote.
In an appearance on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, Adcock accused Bryan of pretending to be something he’s not. “I think that 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,” Adcock said. “I don’t know if Zach Bryan’s really that great of a person.”
Adcock hasn’t been shy about courting controversy. For the past few weeks, he’s been embroiled in a back-and-forth feud with cowboy singer Charley Crockett. During a concert appearance this month with Morgan Wallen, Adcock joined Wallen onstage and held up a T-shirt that appeared to feature Crockett’s photo. In a clip circulating online, Wallen flips off the shirt with a pair of middle fingers.
In June, Adcock also made headlines for declaring that Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album didn’t meet his definition of country music. “That shit ain’t country music,” he said onstage, going on to elaborate during his Nashville Now interview.
Bryan has also been in his share of drama, sending volleys back and forth with his ex, Brianna LaPaglia, and also squaring off with fellow Oklahoma singer-songwriter John Moreland. Bryan removed the song he and Moreland recorded together, “Memphis; the Blues,” from all streaming services after Moreland raised an eyebrow at Bryan’s reported $350 million publishing deal.
Sharing a screenshot of Moreland’s original post, Bryan responded: “Yooo 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.”