Zac Brown Band is set to take over Las Vegas like never before with their highly anticipated residency at Sphere, kicking off on December 5, the same day the group will release their highly-anticipated new album, Love & Fear.
The residency marks a major creative milestone for the Grammy Award-winning group, who have spent more than 18 months developing an immersive concert experience designed specifically for the state-of-the-art venue. Known for its 16K resolution visuals, 160,000 speakers, and fully immersive environment, the Sphere provides a unique canvas for Zac Brown Band, and they intend to make the most of it.
Described by frontman Zac Brown as the band’s “most ambitious” project to date, the show will combine high-concept visuals, stunts, and a deeply personal narrative told through music.
Zac Brown Band’s Las Vegas residency at Sphere will “offer a rare glimpse into his life like never before, a behind-the-scenes look at the journey that shaped him. From heartbreak and hardship to growth and redemption, the performance will reflect a constant evolution, both as an artist and as a person,” according to a press release. Brown further described the residency as a “deeply personal and transformative experience” that will mark a powerful new chapter for the band.
See Zac Brown Band’s “Love & Fear” Vegas Residency Dates Below:
December: 5, 6, 12, 13
January: 9, 10, 16, 17
Tickets to Love & Fear at Sphere are available now at ZacBrownBand.com. Travel VIP packages, which include a concert ticket and two-night stay at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, the resort connected to Sphere, are also available at ZacBrownBand.com.
Music Mayhem compiled a list of 10 fun facts about Zac Brown Band’s Las Vegas residency at Sphere, which you can see below.
Sphere Residency Launches On Same Day Their New Album Arrives
Zac Brown Band will launch their Las Vegas residency at Sphere on December 5, the same day that their seventh full length studio album, Love & Fear, arrives. Love & Fear will feature collaborations with Snoop Dogg (“Let It Run”), Dolly Parton (“Butterfly”), and Marcus King (“Hard Run”), as well as previously released tracks such as “I Ain’t Worried About It” “Give It Away,” and more.
“Bringing our new album Love & Fear to Sphere in Las Vegas is a dream come true,” frontman Zac Brown shared in a statement via a press release.
The three-time GRAMMY Award-winning group will perform select songs from the new project for the first time ever live during the residency, alongside their classic, beloved hits like “Chicken Fried,” “Colder Weather,” “Toes” and more.
They Are The Second Country Act To Ever Play Sphere
Zac Brown Band are the second country act to ever play the sphere, following country superstar Kenny Chesney.
Zac Brown Band Has Seen Five Shows At Sphere
The group revealed that they attended five shows at Sphere, including U2, The Eagles, Phish, Anyma, and Postcard from Earth, in preparation for their own residency at the groundbreaking venue. Zac Brown even shared that he took notes during each of the shows to gather inspiration and ideas for crafting their immersive experience.
“There were moments in all of them that were just incredible, and things as a fan that I wish that I had a little bit more of. We made notes for ourselves like what’s really translating, what’s really working here and how do we lean into that and then pulling that off,” the Zac Brown Band frontman told Pollstar. “It’s kind of a wonder of the world right now. Going to visit and see it, seeing five shows there since then, studying what I felt was really working, what I wished as a fan that I had a little more of and then how are we gonna tell our story.”
Zac Is Telling His Life Story — Like Never Before
Zac Brown Band’s upcoming Las Vegas residency at Sphere promises an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at Zac Brown’s life and the moments that defined him. According to a press release, the immersive show will chronicle his journey through heartbreak, challenges, personal growth, and redemption, highlighting his ongoing evolution both musically and personally.
Brown continued, “It’s my masterpiece so far. This show is the story of my life that I have never shared, a journey through my imagination, music and stories that have defined who I am. All of this brought to life in the incredible immersive environment of Sphere.”
Brown further described the residency as a “deeply personal and transformative experience” that will mark a powerful new chapter for the band.
During an interview with US Weekly, he added, “We have all the audio finished. We’re putting the video pieces together, stitching it together. I’m finishing the story. I’m telling a lot of personal things about my life that I’ve never shared before. Everything that’s hard that we go through as human beings always ends up making us better in some way.”
It Took Over 18 Months to Create the Mind-Blowing Visuals
The award-winning group has been working for over a year to perfect the visuals for their show that Zac Brown says will blow concertgoers minds.
“We’re working on blowing people’s minds. We’ve been working on the storyboard and the visuals for about 14 months so far, so we’ve had a lot longer to go in there, and it’s like when Pink Floyd came out with ‘The Wall,’ when they did their first production of that,” Brown explained during a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live at the time.
The country star continued, “I’ve been looking for a way to create a spectacle for the last two or three years. I’ve been planning something that’s like a really big moment and then found out the Sphere was being built and went to see it when it was under construction, and I’ve seen five shows there, and I’ve just been fascinated with this building, but it’s the greatest canvas for creativity that’s ever been created. But we’ve got a lot to prove, so for me, this has been my absolute obsession and my baby.”
Months later, Zac Brown shared in an interview with Bert Kreicher that the group have now been working on the show for over 18 months. “18 months ago, we started working on this show. 18 months ago, creating the storyline, creating the imagination,” he said during the podcast.
“Animal” Will Be a Rock Opera Moment Featuring Orchestra and Choir
According to Zac Brown, the group’s performance of their new song “Animal” will be a “straight rock opera” moment in the Sphere show.
“The song ‘Animal’ that’s on the album, that is a straight rock opera song, and it’s so fun when you’re building the production for this knowing that it’s going to be presented in such a massive form. We filmed a 40-piece orchestra, and we recorded them, and we used them on the songs that we really want to have a different light and mood for, but we also have the visuals of the entire orchestra playing,” Brown explained to Pollstar in an extensive interview about Sphere shows.
He continued, “We did a 20-piece choir — one of the best gospel choirs in the nation — singing, and we got to film it. So all the things I really wanted to go big on for the album and visually and the release and the all the press, in the process of the album and all of that really merges into one giant event for the night. This is our baby, man, this is our greatest masterpiece so far.”
Fans Will Experience the Show in a Way That’s Never Been Done Before
“It will be a unique experience where you can really feel every note, every word, right there with us. We can’t wait to share it with the fans,” Zac Brown promises.
He’s “Going Into Debt” To Make The Show Happen
Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band also told US Weekly that he is “going into debt to make” the group’s Sphere show happen and be one of their best shows yet.
“Just going into debt to make it happen,” he told the outlet. “It’s a big moment in time, and it’s like, for us, I want to be among the names of the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones and the bands that take that lifelong career impact fan journey to be able to do that. This is our statement to try to step into that.”
Zac Brown Will Be Doing Stunts
While appearing on the New Heights Podcast with Travis and Jason Kelce, Zac Brown hinted that the show may feature stunts. “I’ve been a stuntman; I’ve been jerked around on stunt wires and drug across the ground and thrown up in the air. It’s gonna be wild man,” Brown told the podcast hosts.
Zac Brown also told Pollstar that he will be a “stuntman” during the show, revealing that he will be “dragged on the ground and thrown up in the air and slammed against walls.” He continued, “I’m actually in a good bit of the content, which I haven’t really seen. Not just pictures of us, not just live camera, but actually being a stuntman, being dragged on the ground and thrown up in the air and slammed against walls. The storyline that we’re threading through this is something that hasn’t been done there either, and it really ties up the meaning of what we’re standing for and what we’re fighting for and what we’ve been through. I hope people leave there feeling inspired.”
Brown also revealed the scariest stunt he has to do for the Sphere show during an interview with TODAY. “I was hooked to cables and chains and swung up into the air and smashed against walls and drug across the ground. Probably the scariest thing is being dropped 20 feet down into a tar pit and fully submerged in tar,” he said.
It’s The “Most Ambitious” Show Zac Brown Band Has Ever Done
During an interview with Pollstar, Zac Brown admitted that their Sphere shows is the “most ambitious thing” the award-winning group has ever done.
“This is the most ambitious thing that we’ve ever done,” Brown said, reflecting on the scale of the Sphere shows. “It is a mountain to get to execute, but we’re getting really close to doing, and I’m excited to get to that first night and the release of the full album and the birth of the show, and we have a lot to prove.”
They explained just how groundbreaking the experience will be. “It’s very different because there’s 160,000 speakers, there’s temperature control, there’s rumble in the seats, there’s wind generators, there’s a four-acre media plane of 16k video, and you’re really only limited by your imagination to how you’re going to dial these things in.” With the Sphere’s cutting-edge capabilities, creative possibilities have expanded far beyond anything they’ve worked with before. “We’ve never had a toolbox this big, never dreamed that there would even be one in existence where we can do it.”
“This is a higher level of art than we’ve been able to create,” Brown added.
An Oil Painting Of The Original Love & Fear Album Art Will Be On Display
According to Zac Brown, the group worked with an “incredible artist” named Louis Markoya for their Love & Fear album art. Markoya, who was Salvador Dali’s protege in the ’70s, handpainted Zac Brown Band’s new album art and the original oil painting will be on display at Sphere during the group’s residency.
“He created this image for me and we’ll be displaying the original oil painting of this artwork in Vegas where we do our shop set up. We’ll have a great art expo as well alongside all the merch and everything,” Brown said in an interview with TODAY.
