Zac Brown Band stopped at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans for the second night of their Down the Rabbithole 2019 tour. Strobe Lights. GA Pit. Two Catwalks. Various Visuals including a starry sky, a beach, and an orb floating through a forest. All I can say is this was not your typical country concert.
What You Missed
The Down the Rabbit Hole tour was designed to showcase both the band’s music catalog and their musical influences. “You’re gonna get a taste of all of our taste and background through the night,” lead man Zac Brown told the New Orleans crowd.
Before jumping into the rabbit hole with Zac Brown Band (ZBB), Nashville indie-rock band Moon Taxi opened the night up. The alternative band is no stranger to Louisiana, having previously played at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge in September 2015, March 2017, and April 2018. They performed songs such as “Two High” “Morocco” and “Good As Gold”.
For more than two hours, ZBB illustrated their now 14-year span with a set list of original songs as well as covers. To sum up their setlist, it was “something for everyone.” The three-time Grammy award-winning country band performed their hit singles including “Beautiful Drug,” “Homegrown,” and “As She’s Walking Away. The two crowd favorites were the island-life anthem, “Toes” and sorrowful old school-country ballad, “Colder Weather.” ZBB also brought out a marine during their song “Chicken Fried.”
Frontman, Zac Brown, announced the band will be releasing a new album this summer and played the crowd an unreleased track titled, “God Given” from it. It, like the show, wasn’t your typical country song. It had a bit of a rap twang to it while the screen reflected the lyrics with graphics of Gucci bags and diamonds in champagne glasses. I think the line “Man girl what you've got is God-given” make me stuck in my head for a week or so.
The band covered a JT song (and no I’m not talking about Justin Timberlake). “One of the biggest influences for me as an artist and musician, some of you young folks take notes because this is somebody you need to check out and listen to him, Mr. James Taylor,” Brown announced to the crowd before covering James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight.” But like I mentioned earlier, this show had a bit of something for everyone. After the 10-minute intermission, the band walked back onto the stage and covered Gotye’s “Someone That I Used To Know," Avicii’s “Wake Me Up,” Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," and Def Leopard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me."
Review
Even if you’re not an avid country music fan, you’d enjoy a Zac Brown band concert. I surely did. I did overhear some fans complaining that Brown did too many covers during the show. I can understand their frustration because there were songs from his vast discography that he didn't play during his two-hour set such as "Castaway." Also, in the beginning of the show the bass was a bit loud so the quality of sound was off at first.
Besides all of that, I found out that when fans attend a Zac Brown Band show they're helping out children. $2 of each ticket purchased goes to Camp Southern Ground, a summer camp Zac Brown founded in Georgia. Last time I saw an artist do something like that was Justin Bieber when he donated $1 of all his ticket sales to Pencils of Promise. I love seeing artists use their platform to give back to the world.
Plus, Zac Brown picked up Mother’s for lunch. Got to love and support a man with great food taste!
Want to re-live Zac Brown's Down the Rabbithole tour stop in New Orleans? Check out my Zac Brown Band Instagram Highlight to watch clips from the shows along with the photo gallery below.
