Currently on the ‘Sun Goes Down Tour’ with Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band did a detour last Sunday night by making a stop to headline their own show at CMAC in Canandaigua, NY. The rain couldn’t stop the band from playing to a crowd that has appreciated them since their first stop at the same venue back in 2010. Since then, the band has garnered 3 Grammy awards and numerous other awards as well. Since this was off the main touring schedule, the band asked current American Idol runner up Will Moseley to open up the show.
Will Moseley played an hour set that mostly comprised of covers but he also sprinkled in some of his own songs like “Gone for Good,” “Fishing for a Living,” and “Why.” He seemed to keep the audiences’ interest for his set, which is hard to do when you don’t have an EP or full-length album out yet. He also remarked that it was the biggest crowd he ever played for. Mosley just needs to build up his catalog and work on his stage presence some but that all comes with time.
Headlining the show was the Zac Brown Band. The band is known for diving into a mix of influences that would include but not limited to: country, rock, reggae, pop and southern rock to name a few. The band started off with what the band calls “Funk Intro.” This is where the horn section was featured, and the band did a jam behind them. The next song “Keep Me In Mind” was off their sophomore effort ‘You Get What You Give.’ The band got a great response to this song. The band played a ripping rendition of the Charlie Daniels cover “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” They mixed it up some by bringing back out Will Moseley and tackled the southern rock classic “Can’t You See.” They did extend this song out some and did this a few times throughout the set with other songs. Lots of credit goes to founding member John Driscoll Hopkins for powering through his ALS diagnosis to sing and play rhythm guitar. He was sporting “Hop on a Cure” hat. (We will have the link below if you want to make a difference). A few more cool covers were thrown towards the end of the set before the band closed with one of their biggest songs in “Homegrown.”
I never have seen the Zac Brown Band live so didn’t know what to expect. They really are very different from any other country artist I have seen. They like to extend and jam out some during their songs. A totally different approach from other country artists. I must say this and the show itself was terrific. A job well done by the entire band!
Setlist:
Funk Intro
Keep Me in Mind
As She’s Walking Away
Whiskey’s Gone
No Hurry
The Devil Went Down to Georgia (The Charlie Daniels band cover)
Same Boat
Can’t You See (The Marshall Tucker Band cover)
Day for the Dead
Toes
Neon
Pirates & Parrots
Knee Deep
Tie Up
Colder Weather/Take It to the Limit (The Eagles cover)
Sabotage (Beastie Boys cover)
Homegrown
We would like to thank Jordynn Gould from CMAC for the credentials to review the show. If you want to make a donation to Hopkins cause, please click here: Hope on a Cure
