There was heavy metal and funk-rock covers, two EDM-style songs, and jams that would rival Dave Matthews and Phish, yet ironically perhaps the least present genre Saturday night at Amway Center for the Zac Brown Band show was country. Rising up through the country ranks with hits such as “Chicken Fried”, “Sweet Annie”, and “Knee Deep”, the Zac Brown Band was never afraid to collaborate or stray from the country pack.
All the stops were pulled out for this tour – in support of their recent album Jekyll + Hyde (shameless plug for our review) – their biggest stage design (3 different levels) and their longest setlists (20+ songs, pushing the two hour mark).
Starting with “Homegrown”, the lead single from Jeykll + Hyde, the band powerfully plowed through the first few songs but it wasn’t until a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” that the band seemed to really come alive, as well stir the crowd into a frenzy. And yes, you read that right, Metallica. The band is somewhat known for lacing the setlist with covers far outside the country realm. (A cover of Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Under the Bridge” appeared later in the set). The rest of the set was the band’s biggest hits mixed with a large collection of songs off Jeykll + Hyde (8).
The band is easily able to shift styles and genres due to the setup of the band, which consists of 8 members, plus appearing on select songs was a 3-piece horn section, and a 4-person choir. And while the group’s name may bear the founder name, it really came off as a collaborative effort – each member giving equal spots to shine and giving the crowd a lot more to focus on rather than one person.
Halfway through the set the band took to a catwalk to perform acoustically (camp-fire style would be best way to describe it) a few songs (including aforementioned Chili Peppers cover). By this point it was evident why Brown and the band overall has such success – they seem like your friends from college gathering to sing songs they wrote and some of their favorites by others. The stage might have been flashy, but band was the complete opposite – almost to the point their stage presence was overshadowed by the music.
A brief intermission followed before the show ramped into a high gear of the latest singles mixed with the band’s biggest hits. Among them was a recent collaboration with EDM superstar Avicii – “Broken Arrows” – which the band pulled off very well.
It certain takes a level of skill and guts to cross so many musical genres and do it well – something that worked really well allowing for everyone to connect with a song or two no matter if you like metal, country, or even EDM. With each year the band’s genre crossing seems to be getting larger, so does the band’s fanbase. Even if you don’t like country you’ll certainly find a way to connect with them at some point if not already.
