I have to start off this review by saying that I was only familiar with the singles that Zac Brown Band has released. While I enjoyed those songs, I personally never felt lead to purchase their debut album, “The Foundation.” I have seen them live at CMA Music Festival and it was a fun, albeit short show. So when the opportunity to review their live DVD “Pass the Jar” came around, I was interested to see what a Zac Brown Band show was really like.

The performance that was taped for this DVD took place at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta and was actually a benefit to help rebuild The Georgia Theatre, a mainstay of the Athens, Georgia music scene that burned down in 2009. The Georgia Theatre was a venue that was very important to Zac and his band, and it was clear that its rebuilding is something that the entire band is very passionate about. One thing that was made evident early on in the DVD is that Zac Brown has surrounded himself with some extremely talented musicians. The diverse 19-song set showcases all of the band’s singles and other songs from “The Foundation,” including “It’s Not Ok,” “Jolene,” and “Free.” I must say that after listening and watching the DVD, I enjoyed many of the songs that were performed and their CD is now on my list of ones that I need to buy. One particularly engaging and upbeat performance was the song “Sic ‘Em On a Chicken,” which was written about a run-in between Zac’s dog and a particularly temperamental rooster that Zac had on his farm. Another standout was their performance of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” which again allowed all the musicians onstage to shine and helped engage the crowd even more.

The DVD also features many collaborations with some special guests. One of those that particularly stood out was “Trying to Drive,” which Zac sang with up-and-coming artist Aslyn. The song itself was wonderful, and Zac and Aslyn’s voices blended together very well, which made this an all-around wonderful performance that the crowd seemed to really enjoy. Kid Rock also made an appearance on “Can’t You See,” which got the crowd off their feet and dancing. Probably my favorite performance on the whole DVD was “Colder Weather,” which featured Little Big Town. Their harmonies really helped bring out the emotion of the song and this also seemed to be a crowd-pleaser.

The set was rounded out by some great performances of “America the Beautiful,” “Toes,” and “Chicken Fried,” which is still a crowd pleaser even though it was released as a single some time ago. The bonus content of the DVD includes some performances from Joey and Rory, Levi Lowrey, Sonia Leigh, and Nic Cowan, which gave these up and coming artists a chance to showcase their talents.

Overall, watching this DVD helped me to see the Zac Brown Band in a new light, and I realized just how talented the entire band is, as well as how much fun their live shows can be. For anyone else like me who may be “on the fence” about them as well as die-hard fans, the “Pass the Jar” DVD is something you won’t want to miss.

To check out more from Zac Brown Band, visit their official website at http://www.zacbrownband.com or follow them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/zacbrownband.

Mariah Childress
CMTT Music Contributor
http://twitter.com/mariahchildress

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