Stagecoach 2023: Is Bailey Zimmerman the next king of country music?

If Stagecoach headliners are the kings of country music, then Bailey Zimmerman is the genre’s prince.

His rapid ascension to the top of country music charts might be the only trend hotter than this festival’s scorching triple-digit temperatures.

In the blink of an eye, Zimmerman went from obscurity to Tik Tok sensation to releasing two platinum singles on his 2022 EP “Leave the Light On” to touring with America’s No.1 (albeit controversial) artist, Morgan Wallen.

“My life has been a whirlwind,” he said during his Stagecoach debut Sunday.

“A couple years ago I was singing songs in my grandpa’s shop, and now I just played my first Stagecoach festival,” the southern Illinois native added later. “If that is not proof that you can do anything in life then I don’t know what is.”

When Zimmerman played one of his platinum songs Sunday, “Fall in Love,” the brown-eyed 23-year-old with curly, reddish-brown locks really did seem to make every young concertgoer fall in love with him.

And, he's about to shine even brighter when his debut album “Religiously. The Album.” drops on May 12.

Zimmerman previewed what’s to come by kicking off his 30-minute set with that album’s already-released title track, “Religiously.” It’s about taking in “the cold bright light” without the “only woman who believed in me religiously.”

Whatever Zimmerman’s love life may be these days, fans sucked up breakup anthem after breakup anthem from the young country crooner Sunday.

Most especially, everyone adored his set’s closing song “Rock and a Hard Place” — his biggest hit to date and one that’s been number one on country charts for the past six weeks.

During its outro, he took a moment to address the crowd, drawing comparisons between the unincorporated rural lands around the Empire Polo Club and the 800-person Midwestern town where he grew up.

“I have one thing to say if you don’t mind if I talk for a minute,” he said. “Those county lines can feel like they’ll keep you there forever.”

“But, anything is possible for him who believes,” he said, citing Mark 9:23. “If y’all wanna do something in life, you can do whatever y'all wanna do.”

As if the throng of fans didn’t know him already, he wrapped up by saying, “My name is Bailey Zimmerman, and I’ll see y’all next time.”

Odds are Stagecoach fans won’t have to wait too long to see him again. And when that time comes, Zimmerman probably won’t have what he called a “hotter than s***” afternoon set time but rather a cushy nighttime slot. Future headliner, anyone? I say, yes.

Jonathan Horwitz covers education for The Desert Sun. Reach him at jonathan.horwitz@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Stagecoach 2023: Is Bailey Zimmerman the next king of country music?