This was my second time seeing the Zac Brown Band in concert and what a show it was.  The nearly sold out show started off with Grammy nominated fiddler Casey Driessen the Evil Scientist as Zac calls him.  He played about 4 or 5 songs and ended his set with an incredible rendition of Michael Jackson’s song “Billie Jean“. It was truly amazing and a lot of fun to listen too.  Then Zac came out and introduced the Wood Brothers comprised of Chris and Oliver Wood and their drummer.  The Wood Brothers first studio album, “Ways Not to Lose” was released in 2006 and was the Amazon.com editors’ number one pick in folk for that year.  Their music has a rootsy feel that blends blues, folk, and rock music in a guitar/bass duo. Not particularly my cup of tea but I enjoyed their performance. Zac usually steps out of the norm when deciding on his opening acts.  The first time we saw him back in October at the Agannis Arena in Boston he had Sonia Leigh, Levi Lowrey and Nic Cowan who are on Zac’s independant label  Southern Ground records and are part of the “Foundation“. Truthfully I was hoping to see these artists open up for him this time as they were quite enjoyable the last time around.

the Zac Brown Band

When The Zac Brown Band took the stage the crowd went wild and Zac was sure not to disappoint. He started the show with a song off his new album “You Get What You Give” set to release on September 21 and directly led into “Where the Boat Leaves From“. Adding a little bit of the Bob Marley classic “One Love” into the middle of the song definitely threw me off as I was singing along, but it sounded great. Up next was “Stay Right There” sung by band member Coy Bowles which brought me back to the older days of the country trucker style songs sung by the great Jerry Reed .  Next up was “As She’s Walking Away” a song featuring Alan Jackson, this song is the first single being released off of the new CD.  I love the harmonies in this song and reminds me of Alabama another one of my favorite bands.  These guys sound great together and you can really tell by their stage presence that they really enjoy what they are doing and are having a great time doing it. The performance of “Knee Deep” featuring the great Jimmy Buffet another off of their new CD showcased the instrumental mastery of the band including a great job done by Fiddle player Jimmy De Martini. They then led into one of my personal favorites (I don’t why, the title just grabbed me) “Sic ‘Em on a Chicken” off their “Foundation” Album.  The crowd joined in and sang along with the band to “Whatever it is” Which reached #2 on the country billboard charts but by judging from the crowd of fans it should have reached #1.  Then Oliver Wood from the Wood Brothers joined Zac and gang for a couple of songs.  They did this at the other concert I saw them at with the opening acts and it adds to the show. I think it’s great when they bring the other acts out on stage to perform together, it kind of makes it feel like a private jam session that we are privileged to see. Zac spoke to the crown about the next song up and the origin of it.  They were eating somewhere or at a truck stop somewhere and a kid said to their bus driver what do you play and he replied “I Play The Road“.  “I take care of these boys and make sure they are where they need to go and are taken there safely”. They then performed a couple of more new songs from “You Get What You Give” including “Colder Weather“. Then Zac sat down on the stage and performed the last song the great Keith Whitley wrote on the night he drank himself to death which was titled “Tell Lorrie I Love Her“.  Written for his then wife Lorrie Morgan, It was a somber moment for the rowdy crowd but one well worth it for Zac performed it beautifully. The boys then picked the pace back up by showcasing their great vocal blend with Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Find the Cost of Freedom” as an intro to the Charlie Daniels Band Classic “The Devil Came Down to Georgia“.  I love the way they perform this song and again Jimmy De Martini showcases his mastery of the Fiddle and rocks the house.

The Wood Brothers came back out onto stage and again performed with the Zac Brown Band including a song “Shoofly Pie” which was a real rocking song and probably my favorite from the brothers of the night.  “Highway 20 Ride” another song off their album “Foundation” was another song the crowd just wanted to take over and sing for the band. After their performance of “Settle Me Down” another off their new CD Zac talked about the bands Letter for Lyrics campaign. You can stop into your local Ram/Dodge Truck dealer, fill out a postcard for those folks that are  serving their country in the armed forces and you will receive a free CD from the Zac Brown Band.  The guys sang a great rendition of “America the Beautiful” which the crowd eagerly joined in and led right into their first #1 single “Chicken Fried” which has become sort of an anthem for country music fans.  Up again is the Evil Scientist Casey Dreissen for an incredible musical interlude with the boys and then on to “Toes“. Flody Boatwood the carefree lottery winner from the video “Toes” made a special appearance while the band was performing the song.  The crowd loves it when this guy shows up on stage.  He was on and off so fast you might have missed it if you blinked.  The evening ended with all performers of the evening getting up on stage for one big finale including a great version of “Georgia” and a beautiful gospel song “Workin’ on a building for my lord” . This was the jam session of all jam sessions, with Jimmie and Casey taking turns wowing the audience with their fiddles. The band ended the evening with “free” with a little of Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” mixed in for good measure.  The evening was a great success for the Zac Brown Band as this I am sure was one of their biggest crowds as an event headliner. It was a great show and I encourage you to check them out the next time they are performing in your area.  If you get the chance you definitely want to take advantage and get a Eat & Greet pass to have dinner with the boys and have a chance to talk with them one on one.