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August 5, 2018

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I thought I was going to a country show when I got approved to review the Zac Brown Band concert at Blossom last night.  Certainly the crowd dressed the part with many girls wearing cut off shorts and cowboy boots and guys wearing jeans and plaid shirts.  

 

Yes, plenty of country music was played by the three-time Grammy Award winning band.  Kicking off the show with their number one hit “Toes” which segued into “Day For The Dead” and “Keep Me In Your Mind.”  

 

However, the band showed its diversity by playing a country-fied version of Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” that led into a blistering version of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”  Fiddle player and backup singer Jimmy Martini was on point all night long. Quite frankly, so was the entire band;  most of whom have been with Brown for at least a decade.

 

This band can play any genre of music and they hit on several different genres last night including: Motown (Stevie Wonder), classic rock (Led Zeppelin, Eagles), and hip hop (Beastie Boys, Sir Mix-A-Lot) and hard rock (AC/DC, Metallica) just to name a few.

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But country music what the crowd came to hear and the band delivered in spades.

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Songs like "Uncaged," "As She's Walking Away" and "Homegrown" were played to perfection.

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During the second set, Brown brought out opening act the Mark O'Connor Band to play their latest single "In My Blood" which he produced.  They stayed on stage along with the other opener, Daryl Scott for a rousing version of "With A Little Help From My Friends" that turned into a great jam session where almost everyone got a turn in the spotlight.

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Of course, the band encored with the song that put them on the map, "Chicken Fried."  Then the band played a melody of their favorite songs that included "Cult Of Personality," "Bennie and the Jets," "Long Train Runnin'," "Tush," "Thank You," "Baby Got Back," "Thunderstruck" and finally closing with "Sabotage."

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The Zac Brown Band puts on a great show and plays a little bit of something for everyone, no matter what your musical taste.

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan.

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