2000–present
Latest News: Bailey Zimmerman Releases 2nd Album
Country star Bailey Zimmerman had a really good reason for pushing back the release of his sophomore studio album, Different Night Same Rodeo.
After waiting for his mother to recover from an unspecified illness, 25-year-old Zimmerman finally debuted the project August 8. He previously shared the cover art, featuring him sitting on a pickup truck bed. “For the last two years, I’ve been working really hard on my new album,” he said at CMA Fest, according to Rolling Stone. “This album is something different… Everybody around me feels like it’s the album I’m supposed to put out.”
Listen to Different Night Same Rodeo on Amazon Music, Apple Music, or Spotify
The project entails three unique collaborations, including the already released singles “Backup Plan” with Luke Combs and “Ashes” with Diplo. Zimmerman also teamed up with Australian rapper The Kid LAROI for “Lost.” Prior to the album release, Zimmerman shared a sample of the track on social media.
Zimmerman’s first album, Religiously. The Album., released in May 2023 and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200. The timeline for releasing his second album was also delayed after deciding his initially selected songs weren’t quite right.
“I was like, ‘I’m not really feeling this album. The songs are good, but it doesn’t feel personal to me,’” Zimmerman told Billboard. “If I put it out, it’s out there, and I can’t take it back. That’s when I pulled the whole plug on it.”
Who Is Bailey Zimmerman?
Rising country singer Bailey Zimmerman is known for the hit singles “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Fall in Love.” His highly anticipated second studio album, Different Night Same Rodeo, released in August 2025. Originally from Illinois, Zimmerman worked at a meat processing plant and on a gas pipeline before his music went viral on TikTok in 2021. He moved to Nashville, Tennessee, that same year to fully pursue his career and signed with Warner Music Nashville a year later. Zimmerman gained further attention as a tour opener for Morgan Wallen and Luke Bryan as well as a nominee for New Artist of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Bailey Lynn Zimmerman
BORN: January 27, 2000
BIRTHPLACE: Louisville, Illinois
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Aquarius
HEIGHT: 5 ft. 7 in.
Where Is Bailey Zimmerman From?
Bailey Lynn Zimmerman was born on January 27, 2000, and grew up in Louisville, Illinois, a small farming community two hours east of St. Louis. “I mean, it is a straight-through town. You’ve got no stoplights, one Subway, a Casey’s, a dealership that we own, and a high school, and a bunch of farmland. That’s it,” Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman’s parents divorced when he was 10 years old. He was raised primarily by his mother, Kristi Bailey Haerr, who works for her family’s used car dealership in Louisville. Bailey also has an older brother, Dalton, and a younger brother, Nicholas.
Despite his parents’ split, Bailey has maintained close relationships with both of them. His father, Don Zimmerman, owned a trucking business and often took Bailey for rides, playing country music artists such as Craig Morgan. Meanwhile, the “raucous” Kristi listened to rock groups such as Kid Rock, Nickelback, Avenged Sevenfold, and 3 Doors Down. She took 12-year-old Bailey to his first concert: Tesla, the hair band named after the famous engineer.
Although Zimmerman began playing the guitar at age 9, he initially focused on other interests. He played baseball until his sophomore year at North Clay High School, when he was caught holding a beer at a party and kicked off the team. Zimmerman began riding dirt bikes and racing in motocross for the next five years.
Zimmerman graduated from North Clay in 2018 and seemed destined for a blue-collar career rather than stardom. At age 16, he began working at a local meat processing plant. After high school, he relocated to West Virginia to build union gas pipelines but eventually returned home. He began experimenting with social media, unknowingly setting himself on a new path.
Music Career: Albums, Tours, and More
Zimmerman enjoyed working on his GMC pickup truck and began posting customization videos to TikTok. He also took his vehicle to shows, building an audience of truck enthusiasts along the way on #trucktok.
While working on someone else’s truck, a bored Zimmerman decided to sing the Black Stone Cherry song “Stay” and post it to Snapchat. His surprising vocal ability caught the attention of songwriter Gavin Lucas, who immediately offered to work with Zimmerman. The pair eventually created the original song titled “Never Comin’ Home.” Zimmerman performed the single in a clip posted to TikTok in January 2021. It quickly went viral, picking up 2 million views in a day and doubling Zimmerman’s follower count.
“That video was never meant for TikTok. I was just recording it to remember my melodies and stuff that we had written that night,” Zimmerman explained to Variety. “But when I got home, I posted it, and it blew up overnight. I remember reading all the comments like, ‘Hey man, I didn’t know you were a singer. I thought you did lifted trucks. Like, are you gonna be an artist?’ They were all so confused, too.”
The positive response was all the clarity Zimmerman needed for his future. He completely quit his union job and set aside $3,000, half of which he borrowed from his mother, to professionally record the song in Nashville, Tennessee. His full-time music career had begun.
Religiously. Album and Tour with Morgan Wallen
With the popularity of a second song, “Small Town Crazy,” Zimmerman’s music picked up more than 7 million streams by August 2021. The singer signed with The Core Entertainment and 10th Street Entertainment for management that month and played his first live show at the Rock the South music festival in Alabama.
The following year, Zimmerman released his first charting single, “Fall in Love,” which reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100. He signed with Warner Music Nashville and, in October 2022, shared his first EP, Leave the Light On, which contained the singles “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Where It Ends.” The project debuted at No. 9 on the Hot 200 and further cemented Zimmerman’s status as a rising star. He was invited to play the Grand Ole Opry that November, then Morgan Wallen announced Zimmerman would join as an opener on his popular One Night at a Time Tour.
Touring with Wallen, who was later named the 2024 CMA Entertainer of the Year, helped Zimmerman develop his energetic performing style. “Another thing I would say that I kind of took away from just Morgan himself was kind of just being yourself,” he said. “We’re all human, we all, you know, like have our stuff, and the most important [thing] at the end of the day is to be yourself.”
The momentum garnered Zimmerman a nomination for New Male Artist of the Year at the 2023 ACM Awards. Just after the ceremony, in May 2023, he released his debut studio album, Religiously. The Album., and embarked on a corresponding tour.
New Album and Tour
Zimmerman accompanied Luke Bryan on his 2024 Mind of a Country Boy Tour and released “Hell or High Water,” a single featured on the soundtrack to the Twisters movie starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones. He was then nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards.
Gearing up for this second album, the singer released “Holy Smokes” and “Holding On.” Zimmerman revealed the title of his sophomore effort in June 2025. The name, Different Night Same Rodeo, was inspired by a former love interest and her duplicitous behavior. The project released about two months later, on August 8.
The singer’s carefree personality, though part of his appeal, landed him in hot water in January 2025. The singer apologized after performing drunk at the Crash My Playa music festival in Cancun, Mexico—even falling on stage during his performance. “I sang awful, I played awful, nobody got the show that they wanted or paid for, and I’m disappointed in myself,” he said in a public apology. “I’m embarrassed... and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that this never happens ever again.” Zimmerman has since “quit drinking all the time” and taken up running as a hobby.
Zimmerman is currently in the middle of his New to Country Summer Tour. The final concert in the series is scheduled for mid-September 2025.
Top Songs: “All the Way” and “Rock and a Hard Place”
Zimmerman’s popularity, especially among country music fans, has continued to grow since his career began in 2021. Seven of his songs have reached the Top 20 of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, as of July 2025. They are:
- “All the Way” by BigXthaPlug featuring Zimmerman (No. 1)
- “Rock and a Hard Place” (No. 2)
- “Religiously” (No. 4)
- “Fall in Love” (No. 5)
- “Where It Ends” (No. 6)
- “Backup Plan” with Luke Combs (No. 7)
- “Holy Smokes” (No. 13)
Released in April 2025, “All the Way” marks Zimmerman’s biggest crossover hit, peaking at No. 4 on the mainstream Billboard Hot 100. “Rock and a Hard Place” (No. 10) and “Religiously” (No. 13) are his other Top 20 contributions.
As for other artists Zimmerman might work with one day, he has cited Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd among his dream collaborators.
Personal Life
Zimmerman has never married and is currently believed to be single. The singer previously revealed he has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the condition makes dating more difficult. “The reason I don’t have a girlfriend is because dating me is just really, really hard,” he told CMT. “I’m not prepared for anything ever… I’m not organized. I’m all over the place. And it would probably be the worst to be my girlfriend right now.”
Although he hinted at a developing relationship prior to the CMA Awards in November 2024, Zimmerman joked three months later in an Instagram post he doesn’t need a girlfriend because of his dog, Marley May. “I wake up to the prettiest girl in the world every morning,” he wrote in the caption for two photos with the golden retriever.
The singer is a full-fledged dog dad, also adopting a puppy named Pie in October 2024 near a truck show in Tennessee. “I saw her and I was like, ‘Gosh I don’t know, I just have to have her.’ She’s so pretty. She laid her on my shoulder right when I picked her up,” he told Country Now.
Zimmerman is a lifelong WWE fan and attended his first live event in February 2025. The singer has even expressed interest in competing in the ring against social media star Logan Paul.
Quotes
- There’s a lot of people out there that have failed many times, but one time, you’re not going to, and it’s going to change your life.
- The more you put yourself into it, the more outcome you’re gonna have.
- It's the craziest thing to be a part of something that just feels so natural. I did not feel natural in my hometown. And now, I feel like I can just be me. And my music can also be that, too.
- I’m a momma’s boy, through and through. Me and my mom have been through a lot. All the boys out there that think it’s weird to be a momma’s boy, it’s not. It’s really cool.
Warner Nashville, Atlantic Records Different Night Same Rodeo CD
Warner Music Nashville Religiously. The Album. CD
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Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
