Interview: Zac Brown Band hosting 2nd annual ACM Fan Jam Sunday in Las Vegas
Zac Brown Band (AP file)
Zac Brown Band are getting ready to play host Sunday at the second annual ACM Fan Jam, which will take place in conjunction with the 47th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
The ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday on CBS. Oklahoma country music stars Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire will co-host the awards show for the second straight year.
It’s ACM Awards Week here on BAM’s Blog, leading up to my live blog of the big show Sunday night.
Introduced in 2011, the ACM Fan Jam will take place in Vegas at the nearby Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday. This live remote location is billed as giving country music lovers “the ultimate fan-pass to be part of the ACM Awards.”
Throughout the three-hour awards telecast at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, there will be live ACM Fan Jam performances, via remote, from the Mandalay Bay Events Center by Zac Brown Band as well as new artist of the year nominees Brantley Gilbert, Hunter Hayes and Scotty McCreery. Also taking to the ACM Fan Jam stage will be electric cowboy DeeJay Silver, who will produce signature country music remixes and mash-ups for fans in between performances.
In addition, one of the three newcomer finalists will accept the new artist award on the Fan Jam stage; Zac Brown is listed as the presenter.
The inaugural ACM Fan Jam was hosted by Sugarland in 2011. Zac Brown Band fiddler Jimmy De Martini said the band isn’t quite sure what to expect:
“From what I’ve heard, we’re gonna play and we’re gonna have a bunch of fans at our show watching the awards show and then they cut over to us in the middle of the show, and I think we play a song or two. And then after the whole awards show is over, we play a full concert,” he said.
“It’s gonna be a long, good day.”
On Thursday, I had the chance to speak with the fiddler by phone from ZBB’s home base in Atlanta, where he was getting ready to fly out the next day to Vegas. The band is competing for the ACM for vocal group of the year; it’s their third straight year to be nominated in that category.
But most of my interview with De Martini was devoted to the band’s April 26 show at Chesapeake Energy Arena, and you can read more of my chat with him closer to the tour date. For more information, go to www.chesapeakearena.com.
-BAM
Thank you for joining our conversation on BAM's Blog. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
[...] NewsOK.com (blog) [...]