Rising ‘full-blown star’ to play Idaho Center’s first in-the-round concert in a decade

If you aren’t familiar with Zach Bryan, don’t feel bad. Not everyone is a country music fan.

But if you’re on top of the genre’s hottest names, prepare for big news: Bryan is coming to the Boise area for a concert.

Known for his No. 1 country hit “Something in the Orange,” the singer-songwriter will headline a show Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Ford Idaho Center arena. The concert will be presented “in the round,” meaning the stage will be placed in the middle of the room. The arena’s last performance in the round was George Strait in 2013.

Tickets will start at $39.95 and go up to $129.95 for general-admission floor and lower bowl sides. But sales won’t be handled in a typical manner. After all, Bryan, 26, has made it clear that he’s not cool with concertgoers getting gouged. In late December, Bryan released a surprise live album called “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.”

Tickets will be sold through Fair AXS. Now through 8 p.m. Jan. 29, fans can register for a chance to buy them at www.axs.com/zachbryan. Fans who registered will be chosen randomly. If picked, they will receive an email instructing them how to make a purchase of up to four tickets, starting Feb. 13. All selected fans will be emailed by Feb. 16.

If any tickets remain available after that? There will be a public on-sale Feb. 17 through fordidahocenter.com.

With the Idaho Center stage fully surrounded by seating, the arena’s capacity should be more than 12,000, according to Andrew Luther, general manager. Despite the large number of available seats, there is a chance this show could sell out through Fair AXS, ending any need for a general public on-sale, he added.

“That’s the consensus, coming from the promoter,” he said. “The people I’ve been talking to said it’s going to be huge.”

Bryan’s career has erupted in the past year. He self-released two albums — “DeAann” in 2019 and “Elisabeth” in 2021 — before unleashing his critically acclaimed major-label debut, “American Heartbreak,” in 2022.

Calling Bryan a “skilled storyteller,” Rolling Stone named it the No. 4 country/Americana album of the year. “Oklahoma native and Navy vet Zach Bryan vaulted from cult figure to full-blown star with this supersized major-label debut,” Rolling Stone wrote, “a 34-track treatise on heartbreak and restlessness that felt like country music at odds with Nashville.”

Bryan will be on his Burn, Burn, Burn Tour in Nampa. When Strait performed in the round a decade ago, that show drew 11,445 fans.

Expectations are high for this one, too. Hence, the belief that a public ticket on-sale is not a given after Fair AXS sales are complete — “if enough people register and then buy,” Luther said.

“It could go clean with verified fans, essentially.”