Zac Brown Band Fire Up the ‘Eat-and-Greets’

For all the success of the Zac Brown Band, its namesake and leader has wanted to add something extra to the band's live shows. Perhaps the missing link Zac felt hearkens back to the days when he first began to perform his music. His venue of choice was Zac's Place, a restaurant he and his dad opened not far from their Dahlonega, Ga., home.

When Zac speaks of those days he remembers music flowing, families and friends visiting and good food cooking.

"I want to do the same thing we are doing now, working to make the best music." Zac tells The Boot. "I also want it to be a unique tour experience where we eat good food and enjoy the music. I want it to be like a mini festival. I want to bring that to the fans."

Now the Grammy-winning musician is closer to that goal, thanks to these just-announced projects which combine food, music and camaraderie:

-- 'Southern Ground Cookbook:' Zac's taken his experience as a former restaurateur and chef and published a cookbook. Recipes include 27 of Zac's favorite comfort-food recipes (which are printed on removable index cards to preserve the book while cooking). Zac also personally selected an array of photos, poems and passages which capture the spirit of each dish. The book is currently available online at the ZBB website, at ZBB shows and at Cracker Barrel stores nationwide.

-- 'Eat-and-Greets': This year the band will continue the pre-show 'Eat-and-Greets,' inviting around 75 fans from each show to dine with them on southern-cuisine specialties created by Zac himself. All recipes will include Zac's famous Southern Ground Grub spice rub (Georgia Clay Rub) and his famous Southern Ground Grub Brown Sauce.

"Obviously we're always working on our music, but with this tour we're building an experience that involves all senses to ensure that it blow fans away every time," says Zac. "When people come to our show, we want them to smell the food cooking, taste our favorite recipes, watch our home videos of the road, listen to some great new artists and feel our excitement - a full five-sense experience."