Warren Zeiders on Touring With Jelly Roll and Crafting New Album ‘Relapse’: ‘It’s Fun to Take a Concept and Flip It on Its Head’

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

While many artists would regard a Stapleton-sung song as beyond anything they would dare attempt, the task was undaunting to newcomer Zeiders.

“It’s full circle for me. I’m a huge Stapleton fan,” he tells Billboard. Zeiders includes another Stapleton song, “Love on the Line” on his new album, Relapse, out Friday (Aug. 23) via Warner Records. Zeiders is perhaps one of the few country music newcomers with the growl and grit in his voice capable of making such a song his own.

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

On his new 10-song album, Zeiders seems poised to continue that surge, with the title track currently sitting at No. 36 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The album centers around a heart-shattering arc from romance to betrayal on songs including “Intoxicated” and “Stone’s Throw Away.” Scattered across the album are one-word titles, such as “Addictions,” “Betrayal” and “Intoxicated,” which draw on drug and/or alcohol-fueled imagery, but often delve more into entanglements of the soul.

“In ‘Addictions,’ it’s about choosing my addictions over a lover — and when I wrote that song, I was thinking about the addiction I have for the music industry,” Zeiders says. “I’m choosing that over being with someone. It is saying, ‘I can’t be the person you want me to be right now, because I’m in my 20s and focused on this career.’ It’s fun to take that concept, like a drug term, and flip it on its head.”

The music on his new album, which he co-produced with Mike Elizondo and Ross Copperman, traverse a number of genres. Some of the newer songs stem from a June writing retreat in Miami, where he worked with pop hitmakers J Kash, Blake Pendergrass, and Ali Tamposi, who have written tunes for acts like 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 those people come into the country scene and want to be part of it,” Zeiders says. “Between JKash [co]-writing one of the biggest songs in country music, ‘Last Night’ for Morgan Wallen, it’s been cool to see.”

As with many songs in today’s data-driven music ecosystem, fans led the way in deciding the release of his new radio single, “Relapse,” after Zeiders and his team saw the response on Instagram and TikTok.

“It was definitely very clear to see on TikTok and Instagram that people were very much so connecting with ‘Relapse,'” Zeiders says.

In-person, Zeiders’ laid-back, joyous persona belies the tough-guy persona crafted in his press materials and album artwork — but his collection of breakup-driven songs are heartfelt.

“People like to joke about it, but I’m a lover boy. I’m a teddy bear at heart. But I know with the long hair and cowboy imagery I give off a different perception. I do have a tendency of breaking my own heart,” he says. “I fall for these women and these kinds of things 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 all too well, alluding to a past romantic breakup: “That was an interesting part of my life. Not a fun one, but it is what it is. We all got our stories — but more than anything the overall process has been a fun one, and a totally different vibe from the first record.”

Zeiders will soon open shows for Jelly Roll on his The Beautifully Broken Tour this fall, while gearing up for a jam-packed 2025 — which includes both a slate of headlining U.K. shows beginning in January, followed by his stateside The Relapse Tour, which launches in March, with shows in cities including Nashville, Atlanta and Pittsburgh.

“I’m going on the biggest tour in the fall and being a direct support artist for Jelly Roll, who is touching so many lives, and [he’s] just massive in pop culture right now — the man is everywhere,” he says. “I feel that being in front of that many people night after night, whether it’s [playing for] my fans [or] having a chance to win over his and bring them into the fold, what’s going to be on my mind night after night is leaving a lasting impact, being a great opener for Jelly, making sure the fans are ready for him.”

Zeiders notes that he’s never traveled to the U.K., but as with picking songs, he’s letting fan demand lead the way on the European tour.

“Just looking at the numbers and looking at the demand, what’s super cool is I’m able to skip some steps. I’m not just going into 400, 500-seat rooms. We’re doing 1,000 and 2,000-seat rooms for my first appearance. It’s exciting to see the fan base and the people supporting my music and wanting me to come over there. The demand is there, and it’s going to be a fun experience.”