MUSIC

Zac Brown Band wants to 'bring people together' with new album, Nashville concert

Dave Paulson
Nashville Tennessean
Zac Brown Band headlines at American Family Insurance Amphitheater during Summerfest on Sept. 10, 2021.

Zac Brown is in the midst of a "Comeback," and he's optimistic that the rest of the country is ready to join him.

On Friday, Zac Brown Band released their seventh studio album, "The Comeback." It's largely a return to form for the Atlanta-based country band — after Brown's fondness for genre-mixing went to new extremes in 2019.

Two years ago, the group put out the hyper-eclectic "The Owl," with collaborators including Swedish pop mastermind Max Martin and electronic dance giant Skrillex.

Brown got even further out there one week later with the surprise release of a solo album, "The Controversy." It was introduced with a polarizing lead single, "Swayze," in which the award-winning country singer raps about the films of late '80s star Patrick Swayze. It wasn't lost on many observers that these two projects came on the heels of Brown's divorce.

On "The Comeback," however, the band's tried-and-true country rock sound makes a roaring return.

"The only good thing about getting knocked down," Brown sings with a familiar twang on the title track, "is the comeback when it comes back around."

"I feel like I'm more of myself now than I've been in a really long time," Brown says. "Going through the storms, and going through things in my personal life that I had to do. And then COVID happening, smashing everything, but buying me a lot of time. And the best way that I could serve our fans during that time was to make this album."

Brown says he "never had any intention of abandoning what we do with Zac Brown Band" with his wide-ranging collaborations.

"I was just off exploring — what can I learn from all these other people? And then now that I've got those tools, how do I bring all that back and make something extraordinary?"

One way to do it is to spend "an insane amount of time" making "The Comeback." Brown culled its 15 tracks down from roughly 25 songs, and recalls he and his bandmates creating and discarding dozens of instrumental ideas to get the right blend for each song. 

The album's first single, "Same Boat," might give listeners a subconscious flashback to band's early hits "Chicken Fried" and "Knee Deep." But "Boat" isn't about kicking back — it's Brown's appeal to his fellow Americans to find common ground.

"We can all believe what we believe/ Peacefully agree to disagree," he sings over fingerpicked guitar, later adding, "If the ship keeps rocking, we’ll all go overboard."

"These days, I don't know if you can relate to this, but everything I hear, I'm wondering, 'Who's manipulating me?'" he says.

"'Who is forcing this agenda? What reaction do they want me to have to this?' And it's not something that 10 years ago, 15 years ago, people even had to deal with.... It's worthy of our time to try to help bring people together, in a weird system that's trying to rip everybody apart and get them to give them their vote."

On Sunday, the band returns to play Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on "The Comeback Tour" — after having to cancel several shows last month when Brown tested positive for COVID-19.

He says it "means everything" to be back on the road, and though he's no stranger to Nashville stages, he's looking forward to the gig in a new way.

"The Comeback" is the band's first album on new label Warner Music Nashville, and Brown has "never been connected to a label and to the people before like this."

"I feel like Nashville is becoming a second home to me for the first time."

Zac Brown Band plays Bridgestone Arena on Sunday, Oct. 17. The show starts at 7 p.m. with special guests Devin Dawson and Ashland Craft, and tickets are still available.