Zac Brown Band review

Zac Brown Band jam on hits and covers during polished RodeoHouston set

Spring break was in full effect this week on the NRG campus as amiable chamber of commerce weather blew through Houston. The grounds are experiencing a bit of an adrenaline hangover after this week’s run of Los Tigres Del Norte, Whiskey Myers, Bun B’s All-American Takeover, and Nickelback pulling in nearly 286,000 into NRG Stadium alone. Which makes the 70,095 people who showed up for tonight’s performance by Zac Brown Band seem relatively paltry.

We’ve talked a lot about attendance records lately in the modern rodeo era this week and the RodeoHouston website’s attendance logs are endlessly fascinating. Like, what happened in 2001 with only 1,382,183 people? Y’all had Destiny's Child, Diana Ross, Brooks & Dunn, and Duran Duran. According to a report at the time, low attendance was blamed on construction and traffic, presumably the construction of Reliant Stadium off Kirby and the METRORail taking shape off Fannin caused mild havoc.

It sounds awfully precious to say that the Zac Brown Band is the most jam band adjacent act that RodeoHouston will see, barring an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band which wouldn’t be too far-fetched if they stuck to compact versions of the hits. Full-scale Zac Brown Band shows are a much different beast, full of extended instrumental jams and even more adventurous covers in the mix. That’s not to say that ZBB shows at RodeoHouston are lacking, but the band on the open road with two and half hours or a venue curfew ahead of them as opposed to 45 minutes on the dirt are so very different.

Thursday night’s ZBB set started with a jaunty bluegrass-injected “Knee Deep” after the briefest of delays. Hey, there’s nine people in the band these days, including the recent induction of multi-instrumentalist Caroline Jones. She’s added another dimension to ZBB’s burlier output. “As She’s Walking Away” and its interlocking harmonies benefited the most from Jones’ touch.

The first cover of the night was the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” in southern-rock goth drag. The ZBB’s island-hopping “Toes” at one time had the band nearly-anointed as the next coming of Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, that is until Kenny Chesney made a sandy heel turn and hit the beach.

“We wanna do one for the cowboys,” said Brown, clad in his best honky tonk bouncer garb, plucking his way into Garth Brooks’ “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)”. The ZBB has always excelled at being the affable jukebox band at RodeoHouston. It wasn’t too long ago that they covered Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”, Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post”, and Van Halen’s “Panama” in this same spot.

Brown welcomed country-blues guitar slinger Marcus King onstage to slather some stadium-sized slide guitar on top of “Colder Weather” which — naturally — transitioned into the Eagles’ “Take it The Limit”.

King himself has an highly-anticipated Rick Rubin-produced album dropping on April 5. The first singles show King leaning into Americana and lush R&B with a specific fervor. He would be a welcome addition to my dream RodeoHouston 2025 bill, which already features a three-hour Billy Strings Saturday afternoon matinee.

We’re heading into the RodeoHouston homestretch with the Jonas Brothers on Friday night, Brad Paisley on Saturday afternoon, and Eric Church sending us home on Sunday after brunch.

Setlist

Knee Deep
Keep Me in Mind
As She’s Walking Away
No Hurry
Paint It Black
Toes
Much Too Young To Feel This Damn Old
Free / Into The Mystic
Lovin You Is Easy
Homegrown
Same Boat
Colder Weather >> Take it To The Limit (with Marcus King)
America, The Beautiful >> Chicken Fried

Courtesy of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo

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Hottest Headlines of 2025

Ren Fest drama tops Houston's hottest entertainment headlines of 2025

Texas Renaissance Festival/ Facebook

The Texas Renaissance Festival returns October 11.

Editor's note: This year was a busy one for CultureMap's Entertainment section. A lawsuit brought changes to the Texas Renaissance Festival, country star Post Malone left a life-changing tip, and one of Houston's most respected pitmasters came up a little short on the national stage. Houston’s entertainment news proves the diversity of our city.

Read on for the 10 top Houston entertainment headlines of 2025:

1. Winner of Ren Fest lawsuit plans to keep the event mostly unchanged. The Texas Renaissance Festival got a new owner this year, following a contentious court battle. But what would that mean for the beloved fall festival that generations have come to love? Surprisingly little for attendees. The new owner vowed to keep RenFest mostly the same. “...We're sticking with what works,” said Anthony Laporte, the attorney representing the new owner. “...Both the old owners and the new ones are planning to give visitors a great time.”

Texas Renaissance Festival/ Facebook

The Texas Renaissance Festival has a new owner.

2. Judge rules Texas Renaissance Festival owner must sell his kingdom. For more than half a century, George Coulam reigned as king of the Texas Renaissance Festival in Todd Mission. In 2023, he agreed to sell the beloved festival, then reneged on the deal. In May, a Grimes County judge ordered the sale to go through in the culmination of a long legal battle. The drama behind the festival was depicted in the HBO docuseries Ren Faire.

3. Star Houston pitmaster flames out on Food Network barbecue competition. On July 20, Houston pitmaster Greg Gatlin’s run on the Food Network show BBQ Brawl came to an end. Judges criticized his preparation of New York strip with grilled broccolini with Calabrian chili. The owner of Gatlin’s BBQ and Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers, took the disappointing news in stride. “It hurts, but I think I did my family’s name proud,” he said.

4. Premier Houston nightclub group reopening iconic strip club this month. This summer, the Colorado Club became part of The Clé Group’s portfolio. The strip club was a magnet for A-listers in the 1990s and early ‘00s. Following the death of founder Dallas Fontenot in September 2021, the venue passed to his son Dakota, who ultimately decided to sell the club. The new owners upgraded the food and implemented a host of other improvements like state-of-the-art lighting and sound, an updated design, and multiple stages.

5. Bun B, Ludacris, Keith Sweat, and more throw epic birthday bonanza at RodeoHouston. Houston hip-hop legend Bun B threw himself a birthday party on March 7, in his appearance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s Black Heritage Day. TSU’s Ocean of Soul and Prairie View A&M’s Marching Storm bands performed sets, and video greetings from celebs were part of the pre-concert festivities. The concert had strong performances but some unfortunate technical glitches.

6. All the White Linen Night parties happening in the Heights and beyond. From its beginnings in the Heights, White Linen Night has spread across the Bayou City. This list gave readers a guide to 25 of the summer tradition’s parties and specials, from a build-your-own succulent bar to band performances.

7. Post Malone shocks Houston bartender with 'life-changing' $20,000 tip. When the music superstar stopped in to visit The Railyard on Christmas Eve 2024, bar regulars picked up his tab. But that didn’t stop him from leaving a $20,000 tip for bartender Renee Brown. "His generosity … blew me away,” she said. “This definitely wasn't the Christmas Eve I was expecting, but one I'm forever thankful to have had."

8. RodeoHouston taps Post Malone, Bun B, Reba McEntire, and more for 2025 concerts. One of Houston’s most anticipated lineups was announced in January, at a media event at NRG Center. Performers for the March 4-23 event represented a variety of genres, heavily focused on country, but also including pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, regional Mexican, and Christian music.

9. Nine Inch Nails hammers Houston at career-spanning Toyota Center concert. Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductees Nine Inch Nails returned to Houston and the Toyota Center on September 12, opening the show with the industrial ballad “Right Where It Belongs.” “NIN has always had a forward propulsion,” wrote our reviewer Craig Hlavaty. “There’s no concept of nostalgia, just raw nerves endlessly being rediscovered by fresh ears.”

10. Post Malone's road show lifts up RodeoHouston with heart and soul. Months after headlining the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Post Malone was back in the Houston spotlight in a show that “was easily the hottest ticket of the season.” He used the evening to share his latest album F-1 Trillion, “a collection of expertly crafted pop-country.”

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