July 31: country & folk musician Zac Brown – of the Zac Brown Band- is 35-years-old today.

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Zac Brown was born July 31, 1978 in Cumming, Georgia; the 11th of 12 children. He learned to play classical guitar at the age of 7. As a teenager, he played solo gigs in local venues, performing country and pop cover songs.

In 2002, the Zac Brown Band was formed and they began traveling with a heavy tour schedule of approximately 200 dates a year. The initial Zac Brown Band lineup consisted of Brown, on acoustic guitar and lead vocals, backed by a drummer and a bass guitarist.

In 2003, Brown started his own label, called Home Grown (today, it is called Southern Ground for legal reasons). In 2004, Brown opened a music club and restaurant with his father in the Lake Oconee area of Georgia, called "Zac's Place" where they served southern-style cooking. A developer bought the restaurant and, in turn, the Zac Brown Band bought a tour bus and began touring full-time, playing rock and country clubs as well as folk and jam band festivals.

In 2004 the Zac Brown Band's first independent album, Far from Einstyne was released. In 2008, the Zac Brown Band signed to Live Nation Artists Records, in association with Brown's own Home Grown label. The Zac Brown Band's debut single, "Chicken Fried,” was originally recorded in 2003 and included on the Home Grown album, but later re-recorded and released to country radio in 2008. This song was also recorded by The Lost Trailers. Brown also co-wrote "Simple Life,” a song recorded by The Lost Trailers on their 2006 self-titled album.

In October 2008, Atlantic Records acquired distribution of "Chicken Fried" after Live Nation Artists closed. The band's album The Foundation was released under Atlantic Records' newly re-established country division in association with the Home Grown/Big Picture label on November 18 of that year.

"Chicken Fried" reached No. 1 on the country charts that same month, making them the first country band to reach No. 1 with a debut single since Heartland did so in 2006 with "I Loved Her First."

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the present lineup of the Zac Brown Band is Zac on lead vocals and guitar, Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, keyboards), Chris Fryar (drums), Clay Cook (guitar, keyboards, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals), and Daniel de los Reyes (percussion).

They have recorded five studio albums, and charted nine Number One singles on the Billboard country charts: "Chicken Fried,” "Toes,” "Highway 20 Ride,” "Free,” "As She's Walking Away,” "Colder Weather,” "Knee Deep,” "Keep Me In Mind,” and "Goodbye in Her Eyes" in addition to the singles "Whatever It Is,” "No Hurry,” and "Jump Right In,” which peaked at number 2 on the same chart.

In July 2012, Zac Brown Band debuted their new CD, Uncaged. Billboard called the album the best country album of 2012 as of its release.

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For more about the Zac Brown band, visit their Website at –

http://www.zacbrownband.com/

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