Zac Brown Band

Emerging as country luminaries toward the close of the 2000s thanks to the chart-topping successes “Chicken Fried” and “Toes,” Zac Brown Band initially evoked the country-rock sound of the 1970s. They maintained that approach for a time, adding the relaxed, coastal single “Knee Deep” and paying tribute to their 1970s singer-songwriter lineage through the mellow, polished ballad “Colder Weather,” yet soon displayed the instincts of an energetic jam band equally drawn to high-volume rock and loose, flowing grooves. Those exploratory impulses prompted a 2014 EP recorded with Foo Fighters rocker Dave Grohl and a deeper foray into pop on 2019’s The Owl, while also building a devoted audience prepared to follow stylistic shifts, especially when the group reclaimed its familiar Southern-fried identity on 2021’s The Comeback.

Born in Atlanta, Zac Brown spent his childhood in the Lake Lanier area of northern Georgia. Growing up in a blended household with his mother and stepfather, a dentist, he discovered music early, taking up his mother’s guitar at age eight. His listening habits crossed pop, country, bluegrass, and rock, shaping the songs he began writing. As a teenager he performed those originals and occasional covers at local coffee houses, then increased his live appearances while studying at the University of West Georgia.

By 2002 Brown had assembled the first lineup of Zac Brown Band, which began playing regularly across the South. In 2003 he launched his own imprint, originally called Home Grown and later renamed Southern Ground; the next year he and his father opened Zac’s Place, a Lake Oconee restaurant that showcased regional performers. A developer eventually purchased the venue, allowing Brown to invest the proceeds in a tour bus and the recording of his debut album, Home Grown, issued in 2004.

The Zac Brown Band continued to solidify throughout 2004 when fiddler and vocalist Jimmy De Martini joined alongside drummer Marcus Petruska. Multi-instrumentalist John Driskell Hopkins, who had produced Home Grown, came aboard as bassist. Guitarist and pianist Coy Bowles became a permanent member in 2006, shortly before the group signed with Live Nation Artists Records.

The Foundation, Zac Brown Band’s major-label debut, appeared in 2008. After Live Nation Artists Records folded, Atlantic assumed support for the project, propelling the sun-drenched single “Chicken Fried” to the top of Country Airplay; three further tracks from the album—“Toes,” “Highway 20 Ride,” and “Free”—also reached number one, while “Whatever It Is” peaked at number two.

Chris Fryar replaced Petruska soon after The Foundation’s release, and multi-instrumentalist Clay Cook joined shortly thereafter. This configuration recorded the 2010 album You Get What You Give, which entered the Billboard Top 200 at number one and featured duets with two of Brown’s heroes: Alan Jackson on “As She’s Walking Away” and Jimmy Buffett on “Knee Deep,” both of which topped the country chart. “Colder Weather” and the easygoing “Keep Me in Mind” likewise reached number one, and “No Hurry” climbed to number two.

With percussionist Daniel de los Reyes now a full-time member, Zac Brown Band broadened its scope on 2012’s Uncaged, moving beyond strict country boundaries. Although the album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and yielded the Country Airplay leaders “Goodbye in Her Eyes” and “Sweet Annie” plus the number-two hit “Jump Right In,” it also explored rock-oriented terrain. The band highlighted that direction by teaming with former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl for the 2014 EP The Grohl Sessions, Vol. 1, which reached number 25 on the Billboard Top 200. By then bassist Matt Mangano had joined, freeing John Driskell Hopkins to handle multiple instruments.

In 2015 Zac Brown Band entered a joint arrangement with Big Machine and Republic Records, releasing Jekyll + Hyde under the new deal. The set, which included guest appearances by Chris Cornell, Sara Bareilles, and Jewel, opened at number one on the Billboard chart and produced the country number-one singles “Homegrown,” “Loving You Is Easy,” and “Beautiful Drug.”

Brown pursued further experiments in 2016 by forming the dance-pop outfit Sir Rosevelt. By the time that project’s self-titled album surfaced in December 2017, Zac Brown Band had returned to its relaxed style on Welcome Home, an Elektra release produced by Dave Cobb. Its lead single “My Old Man” reached number 14 on Country Airplay, while “Roots” peaked at number 36.

After moving to BMG, Zac Brown Band issued The Owl in September 2019. Crafted with an array of high-profile producers, the album debuted at number two. One week later Brown surprised listeners with The Controversy, his first solo outing, recorded with many of the same producers.

Neither The Owl nor The Controversy yielded radio hits, and the standalone 2020 single “The Man Who Loves You the Most” likewise made little impact, prompting Zac Brown Band to align with Warner Music Nashville for The Comeback. Preceded by the breezy, beach-inflected “Same Boat,” a track echoing the spirit of “Toes” and “Chicken Fried” that climbed to number three on Country Airplay, the album deliberately revisited the band’s roots and entered the chart at number 27 upon its October 2021 release.