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Zac Brown Band brings some 'down-home' to the desert

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mindy Bloem
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq --  The pouring rain didn't dampen anyone's spirits as the Zac Brown Band brought a little piece of down home to the Airmen and Soldiers stationed at Kirkuk Regional Air Base April 17, 2009.

Although most of the songs brought fun memories of home, the song "Highway 20 Ride" had an especially noticeable effect on the faces of the servicemembers in attendance. The song talks about missing your child, an emotion many are facing during this deployment.

KRAB was just one of several visits the band made during their week-long tour to the area of responsibility. The band opted to spend time with deployed troops rather than attend the Academy of Country Music Awards happening this week in Las Vegas. They were up for three awards.

The band's decision to perform in Iraq was brought on after hearing stories from their lead vocalist, Zac Brown, about his first overseas tour.

"Zac came over on the USO tour a couple years ago and had a great time,"said Chris Fryar, drummer for the band. "Hearing the stories that Zac brought back made us want to tour here."
Brown added "I did a tour in December 2008 with Kid Rock. It was an unforgettable experience for me, and I wanted to bring all of them (the band) back and do it again."
The band spent their week in the AOR flying back and forth among the various FOBs, performing for servicemembers.

"My favorite part of the entire tour so far has been talking to the troops at every base on a personal level," Fryar said. "This whole trip is not about me or the band; it really is about the troops. It's coming over here and seeing what life is like for everyone here and being able to take that back and share it with the people who only see what's on TV. I'm enjoying hearing the personal experiences of everyone."

During the performance, the crowd joined the band in singing some of their hits like "Toes" and "Chicken Fried."

"Everyone is thanking us for coming here, and they're the ones who spend months and years over here for us," said Brown. "The more energy during the shows they give us, the better we're able to perform. It's an experience that gives us a lot of perspective when we come home, and we're just very grateful to be here."

For Airman 1st Class Rebecca Cooper, 506th Expeditionary Communications Squadron, deployed from Little Rock AFB, Ark., it was just what was needed to take the edge off a busy work week.

"I think the rain made the concert a little more special because at the end of a very long week we could just kick up our feet and enjoy some great live music and refreshing drizzle," she said. "The concert was absolutely amazing. There isn't a lot to do here, and the USO and the band really delivered."

The band was just glad they could deliver such a morale boost to the troops.

"I guess you could say we're trying to bring a little taste of home all the way to the other side of the world," Fryar said. "If we could give them a brief little respite from everything that's going on over here - something to clear their heads, their hearts, their minds - then we feel like we've done our job. That's what it's about for us. It's about the troops. It's why we do it and why we want to do it and why we'll continue to do it in the future. We feel so deeply honored to be over here to entertain."