Zac Brown Band

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, John Fogerty was rock & roll’s Voice of America. On the five Top 10 LPs and 7 straight Top Five singles that he wrote, sang and produced with Creedence Clearwater Revival from late ’68 to ’71, Fogerty recharged the scruffy, fundamental poetry of folk, country, blues & rockabilly with shredded-vocal passion, searing-guitar hooks and taut, incisive observations on the state of our democracy. The America in “Proud Mary,” “Lodi” and “Fortunate Son” was bloodied by inequity and rough justice, yet rich in promise and bound for glory, rendered by Fogerty with a reporter’s concision and a dreamer’s conviction. Wrote a Song for Everyone is a testament to the continuing truth and power in Fogerty’s greatest hits. For this album, he has recut a dozen… VBR~262 kbps | 117 MB | UL | CL | MC …classics, most from the Creedence era, in dynamic collaborations with an astute cast of younger stars and kindred voices including Bob Seger, My Morning Jacket, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert and Foo Fighters. The result is some of the best new music Fogerty has made since, well, Creedence. His singing is strong and engaged, even scalding when he goes up against Kid Rock in “Born on the Bayou,” and the current state of Fogerty’s guitar playing is summed up in his shootout with country picker Brad Paisley in “Hot Rod Heart,” from 1997′s Blue Moon Swamp. The twang flies clean and fast, as Fogerty answers Paisley’s staccato flash and whip-curl flourishes with a bracing-treble fusion of James Burton, Carl Perkins and George Harrison. Looking back at these songs, in this company, has brought out a fire and nerve in Fogerty. He sounds as renewed in these performances as the riffs and stories. With the Foos, in a roaring “Fortunate Son,” Fogerty – who was drafted during the Vietnam War and spent time in the Army Reserve – trades verses with Dave Grohl with extra, howling ire, like he can’t believe the mess in Iraq and Afghanistan, made at the same dear cost. Fogerty revisits the country-dance party “Almost Saturday Night,” from 1975′s John Fogerty, with the real stuff: Urban’s tangy banjo work and saloon-brother harmonizing. And in a bold choice, Seventies-California revivalists Dawes help Fogerty resurrect a fine, lost ballad – “Someday Never Comes,” from Creedence’s last LP, 1972′s Mardi Gras – with a poignant twist. Fogerty based the song on a painful childhood conversation he had with his father. Here, in the opening verse, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith is the plaintive, questioning son; Fogerty plays the elder with the darker voice, dispensing the tough wisdom. Most duet projects are awkward, unfulfilling affairs, as if the tunes and pairings were picked and cut at gunpoint. “Proud Mary” – too literally taken to New Orleans in an arrangement conducted by Allen Toussaint – is the only miscalculation here, and that’s because Ike and Tina Turner own the song’s mighty-water soul now. In fact, much of Wrote a Song is just a real good time, especially the country action: the Paisley and Urban tracks; the obvious fun Fogerty and Zac Brown Band have with the jaunty warning of “Bad Moon Rising.” Fogerty, who arranged and produced the album, also has a sharp ear for emotional harmony. Seger’s appearance in “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” from 1970′s Cosmo’s Factory, is a revealing match. The two road soldiers share the chorus in weathered empathy, to a Silver Bullet Band-style arrangement that makes you wonder if Seger used to cover the song at Michigan club gigs. Fogerty lets My Morning Jacket bend another Cosmo‘s song, “Long as I Can See the Light,” to their drowsy-country ways – it fits them, and him, like a ranch hand’s glove. Fogerty’s

Interlocken has revealed more alluring details about its inaugural festival set to take place September 5 – 8 at Oak Ridge Farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge in Central Virginia, 35 miles south of Charlottesville. This is shaping up to be one of the most well-curated, jam-centric festivals since the early years of Bonnaroo or the H.O.R.D.E. tour. Organizers have just announced the following details. See below. * Widespread Panic confirmed to play two of the four nights, with John Fogerty sitting in one night for CCR songs (See “Born On The Bayou” here); * Furthur confirmed to play three of the four nights, one featuring a special performance of Workingman’s Dead in its entirety; * The Black Crowes confirmed to play two of the four nights; * The String Cheese Incident to play two of the four nights, one will feature the debut of “The Zac Brown Incident” with Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band PRESS RELEASE Unique in its take on the modern music festival, Interlocken will feature a smaller amount of bands playing longer sets on multiple days, and will also create exclusive and historical collaborations throughout the weekend. Interlocken’s two main stages will feature full two-hour sets that will run seamlessly from one to the other without breaks between performances, giving the audience a unique and singular experience, as the music will be continuous throughout the weekend. Festival organizers are excited to confirm that Widespread Panic will perform on two of the four nights, with one set featuring a special collaboration with John Fogerty performing his classic songs from the Creedence Clearwater Revival era. Furthur is confirmed to play on three of the four nights, with one set featuring an exclusive performance of Workingman’s Dead , the Grateful Dead’s classic fifth record, originally released in 1970. The Black Crowes will perform on two of the four nights, while The String Cheese Incident will also play on two of the four, with one featuring the debut collaboration of the Zac Brown Incident, with Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band, a bold, one-time-only, experiment by two artists who are masters of their craft and have built loyal fan-bases by touring consistently and creating memorable experiences for their audience every time they hit the stage. Interlocken, is a 4-day music festival, with an emphasis on world class music, locally sourced food and sustainability. Artist pre-sale tickets will be available beginning May 22 at 10am EST and general “early bird” tickets will go on sale May 23 at 10am EST. All Tickets will be sold via interlockenfestival.com. Interlocken was created by industry veterans Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro. Frey founded the HORDE Festival while Shapiro owned New York City’s historic rock club, “Wetlands Preserve.” He also produced U2′s award-winning film U23D and currently publishes Relix Magazine as well as being the proprietor of Brooklyn Bowl and The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY. With the pedigree of these two producers, Interlocken is set to be one of the country’s most unique and dynamic events. Frey and Shapiro’s sense for innovation and creativity together with the backdrop of this beautiful setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains is certain to make for an unforgettable weekend. Interlocken was named for traditions central to both Frey and Shapiro: The inter-locking performances presented at Wetlands and the continuous uninterrupted music featured between the two stages at HORDE. Interlocken’s conceptual theme will touch all elements of the event: “when something ends, another begins.” This simple yet powerful ethos of sustainability will be integrated into camping, lodging, food, drink, transport offerings as well as specialized onsite activities. “Most festivals these days are trying to be everything to everyone — very eclectic with an emphasis on a large numbe

Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Furthur and Zac Brown Band have been tapped to perform at the inaugural Interlocken Music Festival, which will take place this fall in Arrington, VA.More news: Neil Young, FurthurAll the latest music and artist coverage from SoundSpike

If you hear a song called Hush Hush on country radio this spring, you might not catch every word, but you'll likely get the drift. As the lead single from Annie Up, the new record from Nashville supergirl-group Pistol Annies, the track orbits a jaw-clenched family Christmas dinner where everyone's trying to pretend like they don't know the brother just got out of rehab for alcoholism -- "the sugar-coated pretty little secret eating everybody alive." The Annies -- Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley -- trade off vocals, all singing as a had-it-up-to-here sister, but it's on Monroe's verse that stuff gets real: So I snuck behind the red barn And I took myself a toke Since everybody here hates everybody here Hell, I might as well be the joke I'm gonna dance up on the table Singing "This Little Light of Mine" In part because of the drug reference, Hush Hush may not be a huge radio hit, but it's in good -- and growing -- company. Over the past decade, there's been a spike in the number of country songs mentioning weed -- not admonishments or rehab laments, but casual, positive references. Tally up the tracks and the artists include the Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Jamey Johnson -- names recognizable even if you only follow country from afar. In January, Darius Rucker, late of Hootie & the Blowfish, released a cover of boozy string band Old Crow Medicine Show's Wagon Wheel with the line about "a nice long toke" intact; the single, helped by a video featuring the erstwhile Pentecostal cast members of A&E's Duck Dynasty, currently sits at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. But it's not just big acts with cred to burn dropping the reefer references. So far, 2013 has seen three releases by still-rising stars that make mention of marijuana. If you were startled by the brazen weed-smoking on Hush Hush, then you probably haven't heard Like a Rose, the second album by the Pistol Annies' Ashley Monroe. It's one of those records where every song feels like the best song until the next one comes on, but even then a track called Weed Instead of Roses can't help but stand out. Over a springy electric guitar, Monroe-as-bored-housewife stages an intervention for her stagnant sex life: "Give me weed instead of roses/ Bring me whiskey instead of wine/ Every puff, every shot, you're looking better all the time." Here, pot is as safely risqu? as the leather and lace underwear she dons and the sexy Polaroids she urges her fella to snap. Accessible, too: "Go call your no-good brother/ We both know what he's been growing," she sings, her begrudging eye roll audible through the speakers. Then there's Kacey Musgraves, whose Same Trailer, Different Park, came out in March. Musgraves has quickly become a darling among those usually scared off by country music's presumed prudishness, helped by a New York Times Magazine profile that centred around the iffy radio-readiness of her song Follow Your Arrow: "When the straight and narrow gets a little too straight/ Roll up a joint, or don't/ Just follow your arrow wherever it points." Weed makes a more muted appearance on the small-town lament Merry Go Round; the couplet "Mama's hooked on Mary Kay/ Brother's hooked on Mary Jane," bolsters the gut-punch of "we're so bored until we're buried" that comes a few bars later. But mostly, for Musgraves, weed seems to symbolize a certain kind of to-thine-ownself-be-truthiness. There are live videos from a few years back of her performing an early, shaky tune that's nonetheless saved by its refrain: "I'm not good at being careful, I just say what's on my mind/ My idea of heaven is to burn one with John Prine." Whether a distant observer or a dedicated country fan, you may be wondering how we got to this point. For all the permutations that have spun out of "country music" over the years, a few core elements remain, especially for the major-label-backed, airplay-oriented stuff:

Bottoms up. Landshark Lager is giving longtime and new fans of Zac Brown Band a unique, all-access pass to the band this summer, all the while allowing them to cool off. ZBB will be featured on special, limited-edition 16 oz. Landshark Lager cans. Three can designs will be released throughout the

 

Festivals are popping up left and right these days, and the region that knows a bit about popping corks recently got in on the action with the first annual BottleRock Napa Valley festival May 9-12. The event featured a lineup of more than 80 artists, bands and performers, including The Black Keys, The Zac Brown Band, The Shins, The Flaming Lips, Cake, Primus, Train, Jane’s Addiction and Jackson Browne, as well as more than 30 restaurateurs and 40 vintners. Close to 200,000 people attended the festival. Audio was handled by Delicate Productions (Camarillo, CA) with frequency coordination tackled by Professional Wireless Systems (Orlando, FL).

Photo gallery of BottleRock Napa Valley - Sunday, May 12, 2013. Artists featured: Charlie Musselwhite Rogue Wave Mavis Staples GROUPLOVE ... Read the full article at http://www.prefixmag.com/photos/bottlerock-napa-sunday-pics-of-zac-brown-band-cake/

Press Release: (St. Louis, MO) – Landshark Lager is giving longtime and new fans of Zac Brown Band a unique, all-access pass to the band this summer. The Grammy Award-winning Zac Brown Band will be featured on special, limited-edition 16 oz. Landshark Lager cans. Three can designs will be released throughout the summer, with the first can hitting shelves nationwide today. “We’re always looking for new ways to connect with our fans,” said Zac Brown . “We give them our all on stage every night and we hope the Landshark cans will give them another way to enjoy good times with us this summer.” The cans are more than just eye-catching designs – by “blipping” the Landshark can using the blippar app on smart phones, fans will get exclusive, behind-the-scenes content, with each can design featuring a different aspect of the Zac Brown Band experience. Additional content will be posted to the Landshark Facebook page – facebook.com/LandsharkLager – as each new can is relea