Zac Brown Band still has it all down in 7th appearance
Popular group keeps things reliably low-key, with familiar tunes and harmonies fans love
The frenetic energy of spring break meant long lines Monday night for fried food and carnival rides.
Families with young children bustled through NRG Center after dark. Groups of friends danced to blaring hits from Bruno Mars and Kylie Minogue along the fairway.
But inside NRG Stadium, Zac Brown Band kept things reliably low-key for their seventh RodeoHouston appearance. They drew 70,913 paid attendance.
By now, the band has it all down: breezy harmonies, a string of singalongs, Brown’s flatbrimmed hat and perfectly coiffed beard.
ZBB is consistently one of the best-sounding bands on the RodeoHouston stage. The harmonies and instruments are as clear and clean as on record.
They sailed effortlessly through “Keep Me in Mind” and “Homegrown,” “Sweet Annie” and “As She’s Walking Away.”
A bilingual singalong accompanied the quirky melody of “Toes.” There was a soft-rock charm to “Loving You Easy.”
But that note-for-note cover of Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” was wholly unnecessary. Their campy take on Van Halen’s “Panama” was much more fun.
Brown urged fans “to try and get lost” in the spirit of plaintive ballad “Free.” It was clear they obliged by the hush that fell over the crowd.
The stadium again seemed to fall silent during “Colder Weather,” an aching, bittersweet ballad that soars on subtlety. It would get lost on this stage in the hands of a lesser artist. But it’s a singular RodeoHouston highlight every time Brown performs it.