Hartford genre purists must get especially riled up about Zac Brown. The singer and his band mash styles up into a mix-and-match puree, sloshing a little of raga into their roots rock, adding a dollop of Southern soul into their grunge-folk and just generally getting playful in their musical sandbox.
It’s an approach that has won the ZBB millions of fans. The band’s 2015 record “Jekyll + Hyde” signaled the full embrace of its multiple-personality whiplash-switch style.
Last year Brown and crew released “Welcome Home,” which was, as you might guess, a sonic ode to returning to where you came from, celebrating your roots. This is heartland radio pop that mixes Southern rock, country and more. It’s somewhere between Dave Matthews Band, Jimmy Buffett and Alan Jackson. Brown grew up in Atlanta, Ga., which is a place that has plenty of Deep South and Big City bumping up against each other.
Brown’s sound celebrates American authenticity, which is, basically, the kind of jumbled-together blend of old-and-new, concrete-and-clay heterogeneity that comes through in his songs.
The Zac Brown Band performs at Xfinity Theatre, 61 Savitt Way, Hartford, on Sunday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $32 and up. livenation.com.
