Zac Brown Band fans who are lucky enough to score backstage passes at one of their shows are treated to a much different experience than the usual meet and greet that a lot of artists offer. Instead, Zac and the band host “Eat and Greets,” which involves sitting down for a fully catered meal from their own chef that travels on the road with them, and actually spending time engaging in real conversations with their fans while they eat.
Zac explains the reason they do that is because, “All the walls come down around people when you’re around a meal, it just breaks down the barriers and we wanna be known for doin’ things differently. And when you feed somebody a great meal they remember it. We are one of the people and when we get to sit and eat with our people and our fans it solidifies that and it’s just a reminder to them and ourselves that we’re no different than they are, even though we’re up on the stage and they’re out there.”
Although they don’t do pictures and autographs like in a standard meet and greet line, Zac thinks the fans appreciate and will remember the shared meal more than they will a 15 second meeting before being escorted away. He says, “We actually sit in it and visit with ‘em and it means a lot to me that we service our fans differently and are connected to ‘em, ‘cause we plan on doin’ what we’re doin’ for decades.”
Zac Brown Band just released their brand new single, “Homegrown,” which will be on an album they’ll be releasing later this year. They will debut the song live on Monday, January 12th, during ESPN’s College Football Championship Playoff Tailgate.
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Zac Brown Band – why Eat and Greet :47
Zac Brown – “Yah, all the walls come down around people when you’re around a meal, it just breaks down the barriers and we wanna be known for doin’ things differently and when you feed somebody a great meal they remember it. We are one of the people and when we get to sit and eat with our people and our fans it solidifies that and it’s just a reminder to them and ourselves that we’re no different than they are, even though we’re up on the stage and they’re out there. But when you have to take a picture with ‘em and kick ‘em out of the tent the way that everybody else does, at first it was received as we don’t get a picture and an autograph but that takes a tremendous amount of time and we don’t actually even get to talk to ‘em. So, we actually sit in it and visit with ‘em and it means a lot to me that we service our fans differently and are connected to ‘em, ‘cause we plan on doin’ what we’re doin’ for decades.”
WHAT THEY’RE DOING THIS WEEK – JANUARY 12, 2015 – MONDAY
Zac Brown Band has been working on a new album and has just released their brand new single, “Homegrown.” The guys will be playing the song live today (1/12) during ESPN’s College Football Championship Playoff Tailgate.
ZAC BROWN BAND – JUST THE FACTS
MEMBERS: Zac Brown (b. 8/1/1978) (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, banjo, ukulele, upright bass, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, keyboards), Chris Fryar (drums), Clay Cook (guitar, keyboards, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals), Matt Mangano (bass guitar) and Daniel de los Reyes (percussion)
HOMETOWN / ORIGIN: Dahlonega, Georgia
DEBUT SINGLE: 2008’s “Chicken Fried”
CURRENT ALBUM: – Coming soon.
CURRENT SINGLE: “Homegrown”
GRAND OLE OPRY DEBUT: 2008
LATEST MUSIC VIDEO – 2015 – Coming soon.
RECENT TWEETS:
Zac Brown Band retweeted
CFB Playoff @CFBPlayoff · January 8
Games, food, music and more. National Championship game ticket holders, come party with @zacbrownband at #ChampTailgate before #UOvsOSU!
Zac Brown Band @zacbrownband · January 5
ZBB performs live at the #DIRECTV #SuperFanFestival 1/28 in Glendale, AZ! Tickets available here: http://bit.ly/1vXyfcr
Zac Brown Band retweeted
American Sniper @AmericanSniper · December 25
Spend the holidays with your loved ones. #AmericanSniper is now playing in NY, LA and Dallas: http://americansnipermovie.com
ZAC BROWN BAND – AWARD WINS
2009 – Academy of Country Music – Top New Vocal Duo or Group
2009 – CMT Music Awards – USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year — “Chicken Fried”
2009 – Grammy Awards – Best New Artist
2010 – Country Music Association Awards – New Artist of the Year
2010 – Grammy Awards – Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — “As She’s Walking Away” (feat. Alan Jackson)
2010 – Academy of Country Music – Top Vocal Event of the Year — “As She’s Walking Away” (feat. Alan Jackson)
2010 – CMT Music Awards – Performance of the Year – “Margaritaville” (Performed by Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffet)
2012 – Grammy Awards – Best Country Album – Uncaged