Zach Bryan debuted an unexpected, note-perfect version of Warren Zevon‘s “Lawyers, Guns and Money” during his Stagecoach Festival headlining set Friday night, two days before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the late singer-songwriter’s long-delayed induction.
Bryan introduced the 1978 track as his “favorite song of all time” midway through his two-hour set, before launching into a faithful rendition backed by a horn section. Bryan and one of his band members, Read Connolly, traded vocals on the song — Connolly’s singing voice turned out to sound quite a bit like Zevon’s.
The performance marked Bryan’s graduation to headliner status at Stagecoach, after appearing on the festival’s smaller Palomino Stage in 2022. “Me and the boys actually played Stagecoach three years ago, and I wore the same shirt,” Bryan told the Empire Polo Club crowd, pointing to his sleeveless Indian Motorcycles tee.
Zevon, who died in 2003, once said he wrote “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” the closing track from his breakthrough album Excitable Boy, “late one night on wet cocktail napkins after a long day of improbable and grotesque mischief” during a Hawaiian vacation. Jimmy Buffett, Hank Williams Jr., Meat Loaf, and the Wallflowers have all covered the song.
Bryan’s performance also featured two guest appearances – fledgling singer/songwriter Noeline Hofmann (who was discovered by Bryan) came onstage to duet on her song “Purple Gas” and Willow Avalon stepped in for Kacey Musgraves on “I Remember Everything.” Between songs, Bryan acknowledged another headliner: “Never in my life did I think I would be onstage around the same time as Lana Del Rey. She’s the best.”
Zevon’s Hall of Fame induction was announced Sunday night alongside Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, the White Stripes, Chubby Checker, Bad Company, Joe Cocker, Soundgarden, and Salt-N-Pepa. The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
