Zach Bryan is back in Denver for two nights at Empower Field at Mile High, bringing what he's calling his biggest tour yet to the same stadium where he sold out back-to-back shows in 2024. The country star plays Thursday and Friday, with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. and music starting at 7 p.m. both nights, but scattered thunderstorms in the forecast could complicate outdoor plans for the tens of thousands expected to pack the venue.
The two Denver dates are part of Bryan's sprawling With Heaven On Tour, named for his 25-track sixth studio album, *With Heaven on Top*, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in January, according to Hoodline's prior coverage of the tour's Dallas-Fort Worth stop. As reported by 9News, Ryan Bingham — the Yellowstone actor and Oscar winner — along with the Texas Gentlemen and Fey Fili will open both nights. Bryan previously sold out two nights at the same stadium in 2024, a run that placed him among the handful of artists able to fill Denver's largest venue on consecutive nights.
Doors, Gates, and Ticket Details
The stadium's ticket box office opens at 9 a.m. each day, with parking lots and exterior merchandise stands opening at 3 p.m. and concert gates following at 5:30 p.m., 9News reports. Gates 1 and 5 will be closed for both shows. Tickets remain available through Ticketmaster, and stadium parking can be purchased through Empower Field's own parking portal.
Bryan's rapid rise to stadium-headliner status has been steep. Just last September, he became the first artist to headline a concert at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, drawing more than 100,000 fans for what stands as the largest single-ticketed concert in U.S. history, a milestone Big House concert that came just months before his current tour launch. Whether Bryan's Denver turnout this week approaches the venue's all-time single-night record of 85,233 fans, set by Ed Sheeran in August 2023, remains an open question.
Weather Could Test Fans' Patience
Scattered thunderstorms are expected to move through the area and could disrupt outdoor plans, including the concerts themselves, per the same 9News report. The storms are also expected to bring rain chances along with some relief from the region's recent heat and haze. Fans heading to the stadium are being advised to bring a poncho just in case.
Getting There Without the Gridlock
The Regional Transportation District plans to run extra rail cars on the C, E, W, and N lines to handle the expected surge in ridership tied to the downtown events, according to 9News. The C, E, and W lines connect directly to Auraria West, Empower Field at Mile High, Ball Arena, and Union Station, while the A, B, G, and N lines serve Union Station, where riders can transfer onto the C, E, or W lines. RTD also runs bus routes 30, 31, 1, 15L, and 16 near the stadium, and fans coming from the suburbs can use the Flatiron Flyer along with local routes 0, 9, 10, 15, 20, and 32.
The stadium sits adjacent to Denver's bike path network and offers more than 300 individual bike racks for fans who'd rather pedal in than deal with parking. RTD's transit push echoes the setup Denver used just weeks earlier for AC/DC's Mile High show, part of a broader pattern of the venue leaning on transit capacity to absorb its increasingly packed summer concert calendar.
Parking Rules and Towing Consequences
Fans driving in are being told to watch closely for posted parking restrictions around the stadium and in surrounding neighborhoods, where Denver right-of-way enforcement agents actively patrol for violations, 9News notes. Vehicles without the appropriate permits are subject to citation and towing, and any car towed from the area ends up at the city's temporary impound lot at 2000 W. 3rd Ave. Carpooling with a designated sober driver or using a ride-share service is one way concertgoers can cut down on both traffic and the scramble for street parking.
Empower Field has increasingly become a go-to summer concert destination beyond its usual football duties. The stadium hosted seven major concerts across ten total entertainment events in the summer of 2024 alone, marking the busiest stretch in its 23-year history, a stretch that included Bryan's first Denver stand alongside acts like the Rolling Stones and Morgan Wallen. That expansion has only continued, with the venue later adding Post Malone, Coldplay and Metallica to its growing roster of stadium-scale headliners, as per Hoodline.
Bryan's connection to Colorado predates his stadium runs. He recorded his 2022 live album, *All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks)*, at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a performance that helped cement his reputation for stripped-down, unvarnished live shows well before he was filling stadiums twice the size.
