Bob Weir Died 10 Days After Zach Bryan Got Married
Country singer Zach Bryan ended 2025 by getting married.
On Dec. 31, 2025, Zach married Samantha Leonard in San Sebastián, Spain, at the Basílica de Santa María del Coro.
A couple weeks later, as the acoustic version of his new album, With Heaven On Top, was released, Zach noted that he had received a very special wedding gift from his bride.
Writing on Instagram on Jan. 12, Zach said, “The day Sammy and me got hitched she gave me a present and I opened it and it was [Bob Weir’s] telecaster from all his days on the road.”
For “Deadheads” and rock ‘n’ roll fans across the globe, the Jan. 10 death of Bob Weir, 78, who was one of the co-founders of the Grateful Dead, marks the end of an era.
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Zach Bryan Pays Tribute To Bob Weir
“Irrelevant but rest in peace to Bob Weir,” wrote Zach, adding, “that guy f**** rocked.”
While Zach’s post mentioning Bob Weir’s passing was about the release of the acoustic version of his album With Heaven On Top, it wasn’t entirely irrelevant to mention him.
Zach began his post by announcing the acoustic version of his sixth album, writing, “This one’s for all the weird audiophiles that no matter how much I put into a record will always miss just a guitar & me.”
He then reiterated that, saying, “Like I said it’s just me n a room with a mic and guitar and a very pretty girl and a very small dog.”
That “very pretty girl” was, of course, his now wife, Samantha, who gifted him a Telecaster that was once owned by one of the Grateful Dead’s co-founders, Bob Weir.
In music history, the Telecaster, which was produced by Fender in 1951, was the first mass-produced electric guitar.
While Zach has not shared a photo of the Telecaster he was gifted, one of Bob Weir’s guitars was up for auction in October of last year: a 1969 Rosewood Telecaster.
View the guitar on the Sotheby’s auction website, here.
The Grateful Dead was known for their fusion of genres and styles, so Zach releasing a special acoustic edition of an album for “all the weird audiophiles” isn’t too distant from what the Bob Weirs of the world would appreciate.
Concluding his post, Zach said of Bob Weir, “We all love you and we will all miss you if this wasn’t previously planned to release today I would have left this alone and let the world be.”
See Zach’s full comments, here:
Watch Bob Weir’s final performance with Dead & Company, here:
Writing on the standard release of With Heaven On Top, Zach wrote:
“I was in the throes for a long time and the simple statement of heaven being above me got me through a lot. Not my job to convince anyone of anything. I’m not trying to sell music. Music to me is God’s gift and it needs no competition or commentary. The last ten years I’ve tried my best to share the human experience. I feel like I’ve lived all my 20’s out on a very large, very lucky and very unfair stage but this one felt different. This one felt like recording music with my best friends again.”
He concluded his post, writing, “I’ll always give my best and I’ll always be willin’. Thanks for listening and I will see everyone on the road.”
Listen to the acoustic version of Zach Bryan’s With Heaven On Top, here:
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