Written by Kellie Speed
We all know Zac Brown likes his chicken fried, but you may not realize the frontman of his namesake country band is also an avid spear fisherman, an adventurous free diver, co-owner of DemerBox, and proud father of five.
The lead vocalist of Zac Brown Band also has a Napa-based wine brand called Z. Alexander Brown and is the passionate owner of knife company Southern Grind. “My dad traveled the world with his job and would bring me back knives when I was a kid from all over – from Mongolia, China, Taiwan… still to this day, I get this visceral feeling when I’m around knives.”
Throughout its impressive career, the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band has sold more than 30.5 million singles and 9.3 million albums, and achieved 16 number-one radio singles. The versatile group also earned its first number-one hit on the rock chart collaborating with rock legend Chris Cornell.
With so many accolades, it’s no wonder the band was inducted into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame alongside music legends Billy Joel and Paul McCartney. “Boston is such an incredible town,” Brown said. “Fenway Park is my favorite place to play up in New England, and we’re grateful to have the chance to make such lasting memories in the venue with so much legacy.”
After the Georgia native declared the band’s seventh studio album “The Comeback” as the best album yet, Brown is now excited to talk about the release of the new EP “No Wake Zone,” his proudest accomplishment, and the female artist he wants to collaborate with.
What can fans expect to find on your new EP “No Wake Zone”?
Fans can expect this new “No Wake Zone” EP to be a mix of summer tunes — you know, things you would want to listen to on the boat. It really started with the passing of the late Jimmy Buffett and trying to write him a song; you know, what I would say to the man who created such an incredible legacy of music. Everything else kind of followed suit. This is stuff you can put on and listen to while you’re on the boat, or in the dead of winter, if you want to feel a little tropical vibe.
It has been 16 years since your hit song “Chicken Fried” exploded onto the country music scene. When you were writing it with Wyatt Durrette, did you ever think it would not only become an overnight success, but also have the staying power it does today?
I was playing it in bars 10 years before it came out on the radio. People would cheer and start going nuts every time. We kind of saved that for the end, as we closed out the night. That was great back then because you could try things out on the crowd, and they were kind of your barometer on what was working, or what had the sauce. I knew the impact that it had on people, and I’m so stoked that it still has the staying power that it does today.
What are some of your favorite songs to perform live? What is it about them that make them your favorites?
When we get to play “Chicken Fried” and “Colder Weather” live, there’s just that connection we have — people singing along is one of my favorites. The newest ones that we’ve created are kind of like our babies, so we want to get those out to people and let them hear them. Then the covers — we love throwing curveballs. We love finding songs that no one would ever expect us to play and watching how the crowd reacts to them. Every year, we try to find songs that everybody kind of knows but maybe forgot about, and would be like, “Oh My God, I can’t believe they’re playing that.”
Could you tell us which song was the most difficult one to write?
“Heavy is the Head” was definitely one of the most difficult songs to write and figure out musically. There were a lot of different time signatures in there. Working with Donald Dunlavey, Darrell Scott, and some of my favorite guitar players along with my band, I knew I had something special, and I thought the message of it would resonate with Chris Cornell.
We sent it to him and he was willing to sing on it; it was such an honor to get to do a song with Chris. Then the editing and figuring it out… I had these guys just riff for 30 minutes, playing, and then I dissected all of those things and pieced it all together to make the magic of what it is so we could perform it in that way. That one was a bear, for sure.
Your summer camp for kids at Camp Southern Ground was one of the first residential programs in the country to be accredited by the National Inclusion Project. How did that feel? Can you please describe what the program is about?
It was my life dream to build Camp Southern Ground. I kind of knew that I was put here and given my music ability to be a conduit to help and pull people together. To help build this place, watch it grow, and see the lives being impacted is one of the greatest things in my life.
There are nine one-week programs where kids come and sleep away: kids from military families; White Star and Gold Star families, kids who have lost a parent or have a parent wounded in combat; kids who are on the spectrum; kids who come from underserved areas; all different backgrounds and ethnicities. They’re all grouped together and help each other through the gauntlet of all the fun things they get to do for that week.
What do you hope kids take away from their experience?
We hope kids take away that they do belong, wherever they are. They have this amazing courage to be silly; to be able to dance, sing songs, and do things they wouldn’t normally do in a public school where they’d probably be made fun of. They’re in an environment where they’re supported and encouraged to be themselves. They get exposure to different kinds of people who they might not normally ever be able to. For some of the kids that come from the underserved areas, they get to be immersed in love and see a different side of the world than maybe just the corner that they grew up in. It gives them hope.
You hope that they take away the belief that they can be better; that they have other opportunities out there; and that they can understand people who are different from them and have firsthand experience with them. We hope they carry that out into the world with them to make their life better and believe that they can be something that they wouldn’t have thought.
In the off-season, the Camp offers a variety of veteran programs designed for healing as they return to civilian life. Would you say Camp Southern Ground has been one of your proudest accomplishments to date?
Camp Southern Ground is absolutely my favorite; it’s my proudest accomplishment. We do 34 weeks of veteran programming, 28 weeks of serving veterans and helping them to transition from service back home, and we just started six weeks of the veteran family camp, where they learn to see their family as their new unit after they’re not able to be a part of a unit anymore — what they spent their whole life doing. We do the Bernie Marcus Warrior PATH program there, and we do a warrior song program where we teach them how to tell their story through a song. They don’t really want to talk to civilians about those kinds of things very often, so we help them tell their story.
It’s all been curated around health and inclusion, from growing our organic foods to removing the technology for that period so that people can be present and interact with each other. It’s really, truly an incredible place. It’s a world-class campus and is way more than just a camp. It’s more like a nice university where we’re helping people. It’s an honor to serve our veterans.
You have a tradition of meeting veterans before every show and have been a huge supporter of our military since the band’s inception. Why is it so important for you to honor those who have served?
It’s important to me to honor our veterans because they are the ones who sacrifice so much, including themselves and their family life, so we can be safe here and get to live in America. This is the greatest country in the world to live in and it’s incredible to get to live here and make your dreams come true. It’s important for us to honor the people who serve and help to keep us safe. We honor them and they deserve way more credit than what they get.
Do any of your tattoos have a story behind them?
Every tattoo I have has a story. It comes from different things that I’m passionate about, whether it’s my family or the places I’ve been. People who have passed away that I’ve been close to. I have a lot of tattoos from Alaska, a lot of Haida art from the northwest, and a part of my arm dedicated to the Day of the Dead, which I absolutely love. I have my family tattooed in that style on one of my arms as well. I’ve gotten tattoos on my arm from some knife makers who have been a big part of my life, from Rodney Shelton to Tony Bose. I’m really drawn to art, and I collect art. Your tattoos are the art that you get to carry around with you wherever you are.
You have four daughters and a son, ages 10 to 17. What’s the best part about fatherhood?
The best part about fatherhood is getting to relive a lot of your own childhood and having these little people you’re responsible for. Whatever amount of time and love that you put into your kids is how they’re going to turn out. That’s my priority in my life, above music, above everything, is raising my kids and making sure they feel safe and secure, and I can coach them on what matters in the world and what doesn’t. It’s the hardest and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done and I’m so proud of the people they’ve become. That’s the greatest thing in my life.
You have collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, from Steven Tyler to Alan Jackson. Are there any other artists you would like to work with?
I would love to do a song with Adele — that’s on my bucket list. She is my favorite female voice of all time. Paul McCartney is on my bucket list as well. There are so many of my favorite artists that I’ve gotten to meet and hang with, but not create with. The list is long.
What can fans look forward to in 2025?
For our band, I’m always pushing the boundaries of what we can do, how we present it, where we’re going, what we’re doing. We have some incredible things lined up for 2025, including going into the Sphere in Las Vegas to do our masterpiece. We put so much work into this show, and we can’t wait for it to launch. Our goal is to have a different experience every time we come back to your town. We want people to come out saying, “I’ve never seen that before.”
We’re dedicated to giving the fans something fresh, showing off our musicianship and the incredible people in the band, and then showing off the new songs that we’re creating. It’s an honor to have this life in music. Thank you to all the fans and the people who give us this life in music. We’re so honored to be able to do what we do for our jobs. We take it very seriously and try to give the absolute best shows we can. Our band is one that’s hard to understand until you see it live, so if you haven’t seen us live, come out to show and see what it’s all about.
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