Warren Zeiders on tour with Jelly Roll and making new album 'Relapse': 'It's fun to take an idea and turn it on its head'

On the full-length album 2023, Pretty Little PoisonWarren Zeiders covered a little-known song by 14-year-old Chris Stapleton, “Inside Your Head,” which Stapleton had recorded as part of the rock duo The Jompson Brothers.

While many artists would consider a song sung by Stapleton as beyond anything they would dare attempt, the task was undaunted for newcomer Zeiders.

“It's full circle for me. I'm a big Stapleton fan,” he says Bulletin board. Zeiders includes another Stapleton song, “Love on the Line” on his new album, Relapseout Friday (August 23) via Warner Records. Zeiders is perhaps one of the few newcomers to country music with the growl and growl in his voice capable of making a song like this his own.

The Pennsylvania native grew up playing lacrosse, and while a student at Frostburg State University in Maryland, a series of sports concussions forced him to the sidelines for good. The 24-year-old Zeiders turned his interests to music. In December 2020, he released the original song 'On the Run' and soon signed Charly Salvatore of Underscore Works for management. It quickly followed the breakthrough success of “Ride the Lightning,” which has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. His EP The 717 Cassettes followed in 2021, and this February, “Pretty Little Poison” became his first No. 1 on Bulletin boardHouse Country Airplay chart (the song has also earned double platinum status by the RIAA).

On his new 10-song album, Zeiders looks set to continue that wave, with the title track currently sitting at No.36 on Bulletin boardHot Country Songs Chart. The album centers around a shocking arc from romance to betrayal in songs like “Intoxicated” and “Stone's Throw Away”. Scattered throughout the album are one-word titles such as “Addictions,” “Betrayal,” and “Drunk,” which draw on drug and/or alcohol-fueled imagery, but often delve deeper into soulful entanglements.

“On 'Addictions,' it's about a lover choosing my addictions — and when I wrote that song, I was thinking about my addiction to the music industry,” says Zeiders. “I choose that over being with someone. He says, “I can't be the person you want me to be right now because I'm in my 20s and I'm focused on this career.” It's fun to take that concept, like a drug term, and turn it upside down.”

The music on his new album, which he co-produced with Mike Elizondo and Ross Copperman, crosses a range of genres. Some of the newer songs come from a June writing retreat in Miami, where she worked with pop creators J Kash, Blake Pendergrass and Ali Tamposi, who have written songs for acts such as Justin Bieber, Maroon 5 and Selena Gomez , as well as for country hitmaker Morgan Wallen.

“It's been fun for me, stepping outside of that box and watching these people come into the country scene and want to be a part of it,” Zeiders says. “Between JKash [co]- writing one of the biggest songs in country music, 'Last Night' for Morgan Wallen, it was great to see.”

As with many songs in today's data-driven music ecosystem, fans spearheaded the decision to release his new radio single, “Relapse,” after Zeiders and his team saw the response on Instagram and TikTok.

In person, Zeiders' laid-back, happy persona belies the hard-nosed persona built on his press materials and album art — but his collection of breakup songs is heartfelt.

“People like to joke about it, but I'm a lover. I'm a teddy bear at heart. But I know that with long hair and cowboy images I give off a different perception. I tend to get my heart broken,” she says. “I like these women and things like that and maybe it's not the right fit. It's like, “I'm going away for two months on tour — and can they handle the distance?”

“Betrayal” is a song Zeiders relates to very well, referencing a past romantic breakup: “That was an interesting part of my life. It's not fun, but it is what it is. We all got our stories — but more than anything the whole process was fun and a completely different vibe than the first record.”

Zeiders will soon open shows for Jelly Roll on The Beautifully Broken tour this autumn as he prepares for a jam-packed 2025 – which also includes a string of headline UK gigs starting in January, followed by his stateside The Relapse, which kicks off in March, with shows in cities like Nashville, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

“I'm going on the biggest tour in the fall and I'm a direct support artist for Jelly Roll, who touches so many lives, and [he’s] Just massive in pop culture right now — the man is everywhere,” he says. “I feel like I'm in front of so many people every night, be it [playing for] my fans [or] Having the chance to beat his guys and bring them into the fold, that's going to be in my mind every night leaves a lasting impact, it's a great opener for Jelly, making sure the fans are ready for him.”

Zeiders notes that he has never toured the UK, but as with song selection, he is letting fan demand drive the European tour.

“Just looking at the numbers and looking at the demand, what's really cool is that I can skip a few steps. I don't just go into 400 500 seat rooms. We are doing 1,000 and 2,000 seat rooms for my first show. It's exciting to see the fan base and people supporting my music and wanting me to be there. The demand is there and it will be a fun experience.”