Chapter 538

In recent years, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum has steadily moved into the mainstream of the Music Row social scene.

I had a couple of thoughts after attending the organization’s latest exhibit opening on Tuesday (June 19) honoring The Zac Brown Band. First, by continually holding newsworthy events, the museum has transformed itself into being a regular destination, a vital, breathing entity, rather than a static, conventional “museum.”

Second, the reception for the exhibit was dominated by young attendees, folks in the music business who were still in their “new networking” years. This is a very healthy and admirable trend. It was great to see this institution engaging the next generation of industry personalities.

“We’re pleased that you’re here for our new exhibit, Homegrown: Zac Brown Band,” said host Kyle Young. “Zac started singing as soon as he could talk. And he sure can cook.

“I’m less impressed with the fact that Zac can cook than with the fact that Zac serves. He’s a community builder. His motto is, ‘You Get What You Give.’”

Before each tour stop, Zac feeds the band’s fans from a custom kitchen. Proceeds go to Camp Southern Ground to mold children into good citizens. It is in Georgia, outside Atlanta.

Southern Ground is a lifestyle brand that also incorporates crafts, a line of knives, jewelry, philanthropy and a variety of events. There is a Southern Ground music and food festival in South Carolina, a Southern Ground amphitheater in Georgia and a Southern Ground recording studio in Nashville.

Young told the crowd how exceptional Zac Brown is: “’Ordinary’ does not win Grammy Awards,” he said. “’Ordinary’ does not put out platinum albums. Fans know that they’ll find something extraordinary” in the Zac Brown Band and its music.

At Young’s invitation, all eight members of the group came on stage. Zac was overcome by the experience of having his life and career showcased.

“What an incredible honor,” he began, before choking up. “I have to get myself together,” he stammered. “I’m moved by all of this. I’m proud of these guys standing behind me through thick and thin,” he added before being overcome again.

“I’m not gonna pull it together. What an incredible presentation….We just tried to make the right choices.”

Dapper fiddler Jimmy De Martini took over to say, “Seeing the exhibit today was pretty emotional, pretty amazing. This is a great way for us to re-bond together and see what we’ve been through. We’re trying to always do the right thing, and we want you guys to be proud of us.”

Each of the other band members also took a turn at the mic, and each spoke from the heart. Guitarist/singer John Driskell Hopkins (once a country hater), electric guitarist Coy Bowles (a jazz snob) and multi instrumentalist/singer Clay Cook (a rocker) all admitted that, as youngsters, they never dreamed they’d play in a country band. Bass player Matt Mangano, drummer Chris Fryar and percussionist Daniel De Los Reyes emphasized what a “family” the group is.

“There is an incredible team behind this band,” concluded a still-emotional Zac. “This is beautiful. It’s an honor to be part of this place.”

Taking it all in were Laura Crawford, Earle Simmons, Rod Essig, Ron Huntsman, Tom Roland, Mike Craft, the Nashville TV series’ Clare Bowen and her Music City picker fiancé Brandon Robert Young, Brian Mansfield, Craig Shelburne, Rory Lee Feek, Oliver Wood, Lynn Oliver, Wyatt Durrette, John Huie and Ernie & Jerry Williams.

There’s a guy who comes to these Hall of Fame events sporting great appliquéd jackets. Jerry decided to find out who he is. He’s Steve Westfield and, yes, those are Manuel jackets he wears.

While the young attendees schmoozed, networked and mingled, the veterans snacked on chicken meatball sliders and baguette slices with spiced chickpea hummus.

The Zac Brown Band is one of country music’s coolest acts. Appropriately, the exhibit is loaded with cool stuff. Go and see.

“I love getting to hang out with Ronnie and Kix. I love them with all my heart,” Reba tells MusicRow, as she prepares to return to the stage with Brooks & Dunn this month. The upcoming shows are part of their Together In Vegas residency at the Colosseum Caesars Palace. “They are two of my best friends and we have a good time on and off stage.”

The residency opened in 2015, and the pairing of the two superstar acts is as natural as it is spectacular. Brooks & Dunn served as Reba’s opening act in 1992, when the duo was just getting their first taste of success off the strength of singles like “Brand New Man,” “My Next Broken Heart,” and “Neon Moon.” By 1997, they were co-headliners, which resulted in the No. 1 single “If You See Him (If You See Her)” the following year. They collaborated again in 2009 on the hit, “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.”

Reba’s music has taken her around the world, but she says teaming with Brooks & Dunn and Caesars Palace offered a chance to entertain fans without the rigorous travel schedule. “I’ve been doing this 40 years. To get to be in one place for three weeks like we are in July—we are playing three shows a week, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday for three weeks—I’m in my same dressing room, on the same stage. It’s heaven. I absolutely love it. We don’t have to load in, load out, it’s easier on my crew, easier on my band, and everybody loves it. The people here at Caesars are incredible. They are so hospitable, they take great care of us and we have become great friends.”

Reba’s entire team began work on the production in 2014. She said, “We rehearsed a long time in Nashville before bringing it to Las Vegas. Steve Cohen did a beautiful job on staging. It’s a functional, moving, beautiful lighting design and we just have a blast on it.”

To prepare, Reba watched two of Celine Dion’s residency shows at Caesars, as well as shows from Shania Twain and Bette Midler. “I was very overwhelmed at the size and enormousness of the stage,” says Reba. “But the way they designed the staging of it, it’s not that big of a feeling to me. It’s very cozy and warm.”

That cozy atmosphere also allowed Reba to opt for more relaxed stage attire. “Terry Gordon designed and created my outfits. I wear a lot of my boots from my Dillard’s line. We adorned them a little bit, put a few more rhinestones on them, but that was neat to get to wear my boots onstage.”

Reba says the most challenging part of creating the run of Vegas shows was deciding which hits to perform, and how to include as many as possible. “Putting the set list together took forever, because Ronnie and Kix have a huge catalog, and I’ve got a huge catalog, so just narrowing down the songs we want to play that we think the fans will like, that was the hardest part.”

Reba, Kix and Ronnie were not content with a segmented performance model where each artist sings their own set and leaves the stage. Instead, they begin and end their shows together. In between, it’s a collaborative undertaking, with each artist weaving in and out of the other’s songs. Reba says that spontaneity keeps her on her toes. “You never know what they are going to say or what they are going to do. These guys are not anybody that you can say, ‘OK, at this point, say this.’ They will look at you like, ‘OK, I’m going to tell you what I’m going to say when I say it.’”

She continues, “So I walk out each night ready for anything. Every night they hit me with a little zinger that I don’t know where that’s coming from. It’s just their personalities. They are witty and they are funny. They don’t have any barriers and they just go for it. It’s very refreshing to me because I’ve always been a little more strict and to the rules, and they are not, so it’s a good blend for both of us.”

Reba and Brooks & Dunn’s Together In Vegas residency continues through July 30, followed by shows on Nov. 30, Dec. 2, 3, 7, 9 and 10. A string of shows are slated for 2017, including dates on Feb. 22, 24, and 25; and March 1, 3, and 4.