The country music scene has been buzzing with drama involving Zach Bryan and Gavin Adcock, two rising stars whose ongoing beef has captured fans’ attention for months. What started as a social media spat has evolved into public confrontations, festival altercations, and now fresh jabs tied to broader industry debates. As of this week ending November 29, 2025, the feud has seen new developments, including a reignition over AI-generated music and an escalating side conflict with fellow artist Benjamin Tod. Here’s a breakdown of the latest happenings, building on the feud’s history.
A Quick Recap of the Feud’s Origins
The tension between Zach Bryan and Gavin Adcock ignited in July 2025 when Bryan responded harshly to a 14-year-old fan’s TikTok complaint about him not greeting fans after a New York show. Bryan told the girl to “Get off my d***,” prompting Adcock to defend her publicly. Adcock criticized Bryan, saying, “If you can’t handle the criticism of a 14 year old why do people idolize you?…That kid was head over heels to meet you and spent/ parents spent a ton of money to see you. He’s got feeling too and a you’re a ‘grown man’ nearly 30.” Adcock later told Rolling Stone he didn’t think Bryan was “a very good guy.”
The feud escalated dramatically at the Born & Raised Festival in Oklahoma in September 2025. Bryan, who wasn’t originally scheduled, joined Gabriella Rose on stage to call out Adcock. He then jumped a fence to confront him, allegedly threatening to “f***ing kill” Adcock while appearing intoxicated and vomiting nearby. Adcock stood his ground but walked away to avoid a fight, later claiming Bryan was “pacing drunk” and asking about his location. Security intervened, preventing a physical brawl.
In early November 2025, Adcock kept the heat on during a concert in Canada, telling the crowd, “I’m gonna tell y’all this, in all honesty and the bottom of my heart, I’ve never met a person that’s met that motherf—er that said they like that f—in dude, ever, not one time.” Fans at Adcock’s shows have even chanted “F— Zach Bryan” in solidarity.
This Week’s Reignition: AI Music Comments Spark Fresh Shots
The feud lay relatively dormant until November 27, 2025—Thanksgiving Day—when Bryan posted on Instagram about the rise of AI-generated country music. This came after an AI-created artist, Breaking Rust, topped the Billboard Country Digital Song Sales chart. Bryan wrote, “People who don’t write their own songs complaining about A.I. writing songs is like a guy in finance complaining about farmers switching from horse plows to tractors.” He added, “I appreciate true writers, and I do understand the issue with it but if ur worried about a generic word machine with no emotions or nuance writing better metaphors and being more relatable than you, it should tell you more about yourself than the state of technology.”
While Bryan didn’t name names, his comments targeted the mainstream Nashville scene, where artists often use co-writers or pre-written songs—a practice Bryan has criticized before, even using Auto-Tune on his track “She Wants a Cowboy” as a jab at the industry. Adcock took it personally, responding on X: “If all your songs sound the same. You either should be open to writing with other people or you’ve been using AI to write your lyrics the whole [time].” Under an Instagram post by Country Chord discussing his response, Adcock fired back at a Bryan fan: “At least all my songs don’t sound the same,” and clarified, “seems like his comment today was about me.”
This exchange has reignited the beef, with Adcock flipping Bryan’s critique of non-writers back on him, accusing Bryan of lacking originality or hypocritically relying on AI. Fans on social media have been quick to weigh in, with posts like one on November 28 explaining the interconnected drama to outsiders.
Enter Benjamin Tod: A New Layer to the Drama
Adding fuel to the fire this week is Adcock’s separate but linked feud with Benjamin Tod of Lost Dog Street Band, which escalated on November 27 and directly referenced Bryan. The Tod-Adcock conflict started earlier in November 2025 when Tod discussed the struggles of roots artists on the Whiskey Riff podcast, noting how they often play for low pay like “$75 for years.” Adcock clapped back on November 9: “If you’ve played for $75 for years and years you need a new job.”
By November 24, Tod posted a video calling Adcock an “entitled little brat” with “no concept of hard work,” accusing him of insulting 95% of the industry, including legends like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Tod ended with, “I’ll see you at Stagecoach, motherf–ker.”
The tie-in to Bryan happened on November 27 under a Whiskey Riff post about Bryan’s AI comments. Tod criticized the media for amplifying Adcock: “When a non corporate artist from the underground gives actually accountability to the spoiled little boy from a PR debacle ya’ll started, you are silent… This is why ya’ll are hemorrhaging followers and readers.” Adcock replied, “imagine meat riding ZB 😭🤣,” implying Tod was defending Bryan. Tod fired back, accusing Adcock of buying his success and not representing Christians or country music, despite Adcock’s cross tattoo.
The argument spilled into DMs, with Adcock threatening to “throttle” Tod and mocking his success, while Tod threatened violence and shared the messages publicly, calling Adcock his “kryptonite.” This side beef has drawn Bryan back into the spotlight, as seen in social media discussions labeling it the “Zach Bryan, Benjamin Tod, Gavin Adcock beef.” Other posts this week, like one on November 26, suggest Adcock may have “gone too far” in his new feud.
What’s Next for This Country Music Saga?
As of November 29, 2025, neither Bryan nor Adcock has responded further to the AI jabs or the Tod escalation, but the interconnected drama shows no signs of cooling. With mentions of potential confrontations at events like Stagecoach, fans are watching closely. This week’s developments highlight deeper tensions in country music over authenticity, success, and AI’s role—issues that could shape the genre’s future. Whether this leads to more music, apologies, or another festival showdown remains to be seen.
