I recently went to a Zac Brown Band concert. I’ve been to a lot of country music concerts in my time ranging from obscure Texas country to big name country stars and I have never had as much fun at a single live music showing than I did when I saw Zac Brown. I actually went only a few days ago so I heard everything that they have put out thus far including “Chicken Fried”, “Toes”, “Day of the Dead”, and Keep Me in Mind”. However, that wasn’t all they played. They did awesome covers of “Ride the Lightning” by Metallica, and “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” by Charlie Daniels and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen.
Everything about their show was fun and lively. From the hard core jam sessions in the middle of a song to launching t-shirts into the crowd. Everything they did was fun simply because they looked like they were having so much fun. At one point Zac Brown brought a little girl on stage, signed his guitar and gave it to her. She did what I probably would have done as well, burst into tears right on stage. Furthermore, towards the end of the show they came out in glow in the dark skeleton suits and masks to perform their new single “Day For The Dead” successfully surprising the entire crowd, including myself.
Overall, the concert was a good portrayal of their playing style and the energy that they exude. Every song they played had emotion and heart behind it which made it easy to jam and sing along to. They got the crowd up and out of their seats and dancing in the aisles with beer and nachos livening up the festivities. They are crowd pleasers and their music allows for a lively and energetic atmosphere. Better yet every song they played sounded just as good if not better than the studio recorded versions. Its hard to do that. It tough for artists to carry over successfully from the studio to the stage but they do it so seamlessly as if each show is their first show exuding confidence and a respect for the crowd.
I just want to point out that the Zac Brown Band may not be entirely original in their predominantly southern sound but they are fresh and welcoming and their shows certainly are of a high caliber. They have a great knack for moving the crowd and giving the people what they want… One hell of a show! If there was ever any doubt in my mind about the Zac Brown Band before its certainly gone now. They have a “feel good sound for hard times” as Zac Brown says himself. I am grateful I got to see them live and I hope everyone else gets a chance to do so because its truly an incredible show to see.
Thanks, Mikey, for sharing your experience. I took your suggestions and listened to a couple of Zac Brown Band songs, starting with “Day of the Dead” (which I thought might be a strange reference to Día de los muertos). I agree with what you have said in class about the Band being a kind of descendent of southern rock. How weird that they cover not only Charlie Daniels but also — of all people — Queen! I think you’re right that great bands sound even better live than they do on their albums.
I got to see Zach Brown Band a couple of years ago,and it was one of the best country music concerts I’ve been to. I totally agree with what you said about they’re energy, and how obvious it is that they’re having fun up there. When I saw them I was lucky enough to be right next to the stage, and they were so engaging. They encouraged people dancing, and just getting down with the music. It felt more like a backyard jam session, except their set was awesome. Even back then they were starting to play with the day of the dead and skeleton theme, which I think shows how much thought artistically they put into the development of their music.
Hearing about your experience with Zac Brown Band sounds a lot like my experience with Florida Georgia Line. They both have a rock sound, and they threw in a lot of jam sessions in the middle of their songs. Zac Brown Band is a lot better than Florida Georgia Line in my opinion. Your experience at this concert shows why country concerts are so fun. The loud music, tributes to different bands, and crowd interaction are all things that fans might look for in a country concert. Now I’m jealous that I didn’t get to go see them jam out.
Hey Michael, I enjoyed reading your blog post! I didn’t know Zac Brown Band was very much ‘rock’-ish, and it might have been because I’ve never been heard them live. Just by listening to their recorded albums, I thought they mainly did traditional country sound. How did they cover Charlie Daniels and Queen? Did they stick to the original style of songs and try to sound more like them or did they interpret it in their own style (more like country or rock)? It sounds like Zac Brown Band is a group of really good performers, so I’d have to try to catch them sing live next time!
I absolutely love Zac Brown Band, and couldn’t agree more with you when you say that they really play with emotion. I’ve never seen them live in person before, but I’ve seen them play on TV and the passion they show during every song is so moving. They’re fun and upbeat, but they also know how to tug at the audience’s heart strings, and I feel like that is often unique to country music. It’s definitely refreshing for the listeners to have something new and different to enjoy. Also, I had no idea that they performed covers of Queen, so now I’ll have to go look that up!
After reading this, I am now going to put Zac Brown Band on my list of concerts to attend. Their song “Toes” is one of my favorite songs. Just by listening to their songs on iTunes, I can tell that they are great live performers. It really is hard for artists to transfer their recording voice to live shows. I can just imagine how easy Zac Brown made it seem. I really enjoy them just because there’s something about them that makes me have hope that everything is going to be aright. Their music makes me just relax and enjoy the moment. One day I’m going to go to the beach and listen to their song “Toes” while I am there. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. Your post made me feel like I was actually at the concert.