Review & setlist: Zac Brown Band brings ‘Love & Fear’ – and a whole lot of joy – to Fenway

Zac Brown Band at Fenway Park, Boston, Aug. 2, 2026.

The sun had yet to go down when the Zac Brown Band burst onto the stage at Fenway Park Sunday, Aug. 2, for their “Love & Fear Tour.” They stepped right into “Whiskey’s Gone,” a fast, fun song that set the pace and the mood for the whole night, which was joyous and full of surprises. 

Decked out in a Red Sox cap, Zac Brown moved quickly into “As She’s Walking Away,” before announcing for the first of at least six times that Fenway is his favorite place to play. In fact, Sunday marked the ZBB’s 15th sold-out show, a record-breaking feat. (A record they had actually set themselves a few times before smashing this one.)

ZBB is a country band for sure, but one with a bit of southern rock, a little soul, and a ton of heart thrown in. And Brown is a storyteller in both his music and, on this night, in a series of introspective monologues that laid out his vulnerable side in undeniable fashion. They could have come off as dark, as they were presented with no lights or fanfare, but they didn’t: They were more hopeful — a “we need the dark to see the stars” kind of hopeful — and they also opened the door for that joy vibe to come.

Much of the joy came from audience participation, which wasn’t just expected, it was required — and lent itself to the concept that we’re all in it together, or as ZBB would say, we’re all in the “Same Boat.”

When the band rolled into “Keep Me In Mind,” Brown urged the crowd to “sing it for me, Boston, on the chorus” and they did. When they struck up “Toes in the Water,” fans sang out “ass in the sand” without cueing or hesitation. Brown even taught the crowd a new song, one that fans of the reality show “Survivor” probably recognized: “I Ain’t Worried About It.” Brown, a “Survivor” fan, performed the then-yet-to-be-released song on an episode of the long running reality show back in the spring.

Then Brown announced it was time to rock and unleashed what he calls a kind of rock opera, “Animal,” a bit of a darker number than “I Ain’t Worried.” 

The unexpected came when Brown brought out Mac MacAnally, a longtime friend and bandmate of the late Jimmy Buffet, and the pair sang Buffet’s classic “A Pirate Looks at Forty,” with MacAnally playing his friend’s old guitar.

“Jimmy’s here with us,” he said.

And he was, at least on screen, later in the show.

Again, the audience needed no encouragement to join in when Brown next brought out Boston’s own Gary Cherone from the band Extreme — the group opened for Mötley Crüe in Mansfield the night before — who sang his classic 1990 ballad, “More Than Words.” What is it about that song? It’s indelible, incredibly singable, and makes you a little misty.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Brown said. 

What happened was, as is often the case these days, Snoop Dogg. Brown said he and newest band member Buddha had been writing a lot of songs, one a great riff called “Let it Run,” a bit of a pot smoking anthem, which of course brought an on-screen duet with Snoop. (Frankly, Snoop is so omnipresent these days I’m half expecting to run into him in Market Basket.)

It was then Brown did another ode to Buffet, launching into their duet, “Knee Deep,” right before he made the biggest unexpected move of the night: Grinning broadly, Brown announced he was giving everyone at the show a free cruise for two. That is $40 million worth of crazy right there. Unfortunately he didn’t announce he was also going to be on the cruise, but that would be too much to expect — and with several dates to choose from it’s not like everyone is going to be on the “Same Boat.”

We got a Taylor Swift-style heart sign after “Colder Weather,” and just when you asked “What’s left?,” the band burst into the song that put them on the map, “Chicken Fried,” and as they say, the crowd went wild.

I’ve often thought that country music people are incredibly generous, and not just because they give away cruises, but because they let others shine. Many musicians bring out opening acts for duets, and they always give shout-outs to band members. Zac Brown is very much the face and lead singer of the Zac Brown Band, but he is well aware of who is on stage with him, a group of people who are incredible musicians in their own right. And to that end, much of the night’s encore was given over to the band, each member having their moment to sing and to shine.

Buddha kicked it off with a little “Heartache Tonight,” from The Eagles, and drummer Chris Fryar picked up the gauntlet by rolling smoothly into Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.” Guitarist/violinist Jimmy De Martini tackled Beck’s “Loser,” and bass player Matt Mangano killed it on The Box Tops’ “The Letter.”

I’m going to be honest with you, I couldn’t follow percussionist Daniel De Los Reyes’ cover of Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” because he sang it fast and my Spanish is not that good. But he was fun and fleet and fabulous. Carolyn Jones, meanwhile, was undeniable — her version of Sia’s “Chandelier” was jaw dropping. Guitar player Coy Bowles did John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses,” and did it well, as did Clay Cook with “Your Love” by the Outfield before Zac broke into Don McClean’s “American Pie.”

Singing and swaying to that song — because no one can hear “American Pie” without singing and swaying — had goosebumps rising rising throughout the park. It’s one of those moments (well, several moments, it’s a very long song) that you only have in large crowds where suddenly everyone is your best friend (until you’re racing them for an Uber because the train is down). 

That left only singer/guitar player John Driskell Hopkins, who wrapped the night with (what else would you expect from a southern band?) Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.” Not only did he kill it, but I’m pretty sure Cook’s guitar was emitting sparks from the shredding — he was utterly spectacular. And while it seemed at one point the stage might explode from the energy and vibes off that one song, the little girl in front of me slept through it all, soundly and sweetly tucked on her mother’s lap. How joyful for her.

And there is that word again, joy. There was more than one time during the evening that Brown would just look out over the fans and smile right up to his eyes, you could see he was soaking it all in. Cook, Bowles, Mangano, Jones, definitely Hopkins, they were all having a good time as well, and so was the crowd.

As much as ZBB professes to love Boston, it is clear, Boston also loves ZBB. It was a right-back-at-ya kind of crowd emitting their own joy and seriously, I’ll ask again, who couldn’t use a little more of that?

Setlist for Zac Brown Band at Fenway Park, Boston, Aug. 2, 2026:

Set 1:

• Whiskey’s Gone
• As She’s Walking Away
• Keep Me in Mind
• Hard RunToes
• Free / Into the Mystic
• I Ain’t Worried About It
• Animal

Acoustic:

• What You Gonna Do
• A Pirate Looks at Forty (Jimmy Buffett cover, with Mac McAnally)
• More Than Words (Extreme cover, with Gary Cherone)
• The Banjo Song / Island Song (Mumford & Sons cover)
• Settle Me Down / Volcano

Set 2:

• Let It Rain
• Let It Run
• Homegrown
• The Sum
• Loving You Easy
• Knee Deep
• Same Boat (preceded by cruise giveaway)
• Colder Weather / Take It to the Limit
• Chicken Fried

Encore:

• Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett cover, with Mac McAnally; for Robert Greenidge)
• Heartache Tonight (Eagles cover)
• Let’s Get It On (Marvin Gaye cover)
• Loser (Beck cover)
• The Letter (The Box Tops cover)
• Tití Me Preguntó (Bad Bunny cover)
• Chandelier (Sia cover)
• Your Love (The Outfield cover)
• Pink Houses (John Mellencamp cover)
• American Pie (Don McLean cover)
• Free Bird (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

Chris Stevens is a freelance concert reviewer for Boston.com.