Zac Brown Band Opens The 2025 Soaring Eagle Casino And Resort Outdoor Summer Concert Series
Mount Pleasant, MI (May 25, 2025) – On Sunday evening, Soaring Eagle Casino And Resort opens their 2025 Outdoor Summer Concert Series with Zac Brown Band, with support by Corey Kent.
Each year starting in early spring, the Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort begins their outdoor concert series that continues all throughout the summer months into fall. The concert series is filled with musical entertainment from country, rock and classic rock genres.
Corey Kent is this year’s recipient to kick the doors wide open and inaugurate the stage for another new concert season. With an excited crowd facing him, Kent starts his set off with his latest single, “Girl I Never Met.” Continuing on, he adds, “Ain’t My Day,” “This Heart,” “Damn Good Country Song” and “Gold.”
With the crowd wrapped up in him and showing Corey some love, he introduces the band members behind him that includes Chris Wilson on drums, Jordan Landers with bass guitar, Ethan Radcliffe strumming away on guitar and keys, while Michigan raised Steven Adams on lead guitar.
Corey ends his set with his first number one and 2022 debut single, “Wild As Her” and 2023 follow up single, “Something’s Gonna Kill Me.”
After a short intermission and stage changeover, Zac Brown Band is welcomed to the stage by a high energy crowd eager to get the summer started and music playing.
The band begins by taking everyone on an imaginary trip to the beach, for some fun in the sun with a little reggae country sound in their opening number “Same Boat,” and continuing with their number one hit, “Toes.”
While the crowd is enjoying the beach scene, smoke begins to bellow from the stage as fiddle player, Jimmy De Martini rosins up his bow for the Charlie Daniels Band classic, “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.” After the victory of fiddles laid at Jimmy’s feet, the show progresses with hit songs by the multi-awarded singer/songwriter, musician, Zac Brown. Those songs comprise of: “Someone I Used To Know,” “Free” and “Homegrown.” New music includes Zac’s personal favorite, “My Kinda Medicine” from his 2024 No Wake Zone ep.
Taking a moment to welcome the crowd, Zac states “it has been a while since playing nearby and it is good to see all the smiling faces. Thank you for giving us our jobs and allowing us to play for you tonight. We have been able to give back in amazing ways. We built a campus, Camp Southern Ground, that provides nine weeks of summer camp for kids, a sleep-away camp for kids of all different abilities and backgrounds. Kids from on spectrum, under-served areas, kids of military families and main street kids. They all come sleep away for six days a week out of the summer. Then we run 36 weeks of veteran programs. If anyone has a place in their hearts for veterans or kids, and want to help out, just send an email and someone will contact you back with more information. But Thank You!! So much for giving us this life and allowing us to do what we love to do. We will continue to do this until our fingers fall off or we can’t stand up here anymore.” Zac also announces that the band has a new album coming out soon, and they are excited for everyone to get it and hear it.
As he and his band congregate at the front of center stage, they all take a seat in a semi-circle for an acoustic set of “Wild Palomino,” “Sweet Annie” and “Homegrown.”
Zac has surrounded himself with a heavy dose of quality musicians that have only gotten better with age as they have spent years perfecting their craft together on stage. Those superb individuals are; Coy Bowles (guitar, keyboard and backing vocals), Clay Cook (guitar and backing vocals), Daniel De Los Reyes (percussionist), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle and backing vocals), Chris Fryar (drums), John Driskell Hopkins (guitar, mandolin and backing vocals), Matt Mangano (bass guitar) and Caroline Jones (piano, guitar and vocals). Having love and respect for his band, Zac often shares the front center stage with his fellow musicians. For tonight’s show, he steps aside and shines the spotlight on Jones as she belts out a fine rendition of the Alannah Myles cover of “Black Velvet.”
With respect and admiration to other artists, he adds covers from others to his set like Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain,” Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic” and Eagles “Take It To The Limit.”
The crowd jumps to their feet and sings along to Zac’s signature single “Chicken Fried” and erupt into a frenzy when a member of the US Marines marches on stage and stands at attention as Brown sings ‘I thank God for my life…for the Stars and Stripes…may Freedom forever fly…let it ring…salute the one’s who died…the ones who give their lives…so we don’t have to sacrifice…all the things we love…like our chicken fried.’
The set ends with the crowd singing along to the slower ballad of “Colder Weather” and returning back to the water with “Knee Deep” while being accompanied by the late Jimmy Buffet on the large video screens on each side of the stage.
As the band exits off stage, the crowd cheers and applauds louder for an encore.
Zac and his band oblige the crowd and reappears on stage to perform a few more for his loving fans. He dives into a masterful performance of the rock band Queen’s cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The rendition is one to be witnessed as it was performed with a heartfelt full of raw emotion, expected to be only seen by a theatrical audience. It is followed up with the 2015 single, “Beautiful Drug.”
Tonight’s show was a success for all, and a great way to start off the summer concert series as everyone appears to have had a great evening. From those sitting up on the hillside to those standing at their seats in front, many were seen dancing and singing with the band all evening. Even Zac and his band seemed to be in a perfect world for the evening, with no worries or concerns at all. Unlike many shows you see, this show appears to be like a well-oiled machine, and everyone is just on-stage having fun and enjoying making music. It’s also more noticeable as the artist and musicians aren’t being hidden by all the stage productions as like in other shows. The Zac Brown Band is all about the songs, artists and musicianship of the band. Zac Brown Band is a must for artist to see and needs to be added to all country reggae music lovers.
Although, the US tour is nearly wrapped up for this round, you can prepare for the next pass through by staying up to date with news and tour stops by clicking on the links below. Also, be sure to follow along to Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort links to not miss any other exciting shows coming throughout the summer.
Words by: Leslie Reasoner
Photos by: John Reasoner
Zac Brown Band
Camp Southern Ground
Corey Kent
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort