Look up free in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Free may refer to:

• Free will
• Political freedom
• Economic freedom
• Something given or supplied without payment (gratis)
• Gratis versus Libre, the distinction between the two meanings above

Free may also refer to:

Arts and philosophy[link]

• Freedom (disambiguation)
• Free: The Future of a Radical Price, 2009 book by Chris Anderson
• "Free" (film), written by Peter Hansen Gibson
• "Free" (Desperate Housewives), a television episode
• Free, to emancipate, to obtain political rights (usually for a disenfranchised group)
• Free, a pseudonym for the activist and writer Abbie Hoffman
• Free content, content without significant legal usability restrictions
• Free will, control exercised by rational agents over their actions and decisions

Computing[link]

• free (programming), a function that releases dynamically allocated memory for reuse
• Freefont, an open font project
• Free format, a file format which can be used without restrictions
• Free software, software usable and distributable with few restrictions and no payment
• Freeware, a broader class of software available at no cost
• Full Reactive Eyes Entertainment, a video game genre as implemented in the game Shenmue

Mathematics[link]

• Free object
  • Free abelian group
  • Free algebra
  • Free group
  • Free module
  • Free semigroup
• Free variable
• Group action

it means that you get money

Music[link]

Performers[link]

• Free (band), an English rock band
• Free (rapper), an American rapper
• The Free, a German euro house

Albums[link]

• Free (Rick Astley album)
• Free (Bonfire album)
• Free (Concrete Blonde album)
• Free (Dana International album)
• Free (Gavin DeGraw album)
• Free (For Real album)
• Free (Free album), self-titled album
• Free (David Garrett album)
• Free (Brad Johner album)
• Free (Libera album)
• Free (Mao Abe album)
• Free (Marcus Miller album), or its title song
• Free (Negativland album)
• Free (OSI album), or its title song
• Free (The Party album)
• Free (Twin Atlantic album)
• Free (Planetshakers album)
• Free (Kate Ryan album)
• Free (Stone album), live recording
• Free
• Free (Virtue album)
• Free..., an EP by Acid King, or its title song
• free*, an album by Jim's Big Ego
• Free, an album by Rivermaya

Songs[link]

• "Free" (Chicago song)
• "Free" (Deniece Williams song)
• "Free" (Erika song)
• "Free" (Estelle song)
• "Free" (Mao Abe song)
• "Free" (Mýa song)
• "Free" (Natalia Kills song)
• "Free" (Sarah Brightman song)
• "Free" (Stryper song)
• "Free" (Train song)
• "Free" (Ultra Naté song)
• "Free" (Zac Brown Band song)
• "Free" (Haley Rinehart song)
• "Free", by Alesha Dixon from Fired Up
• "Free", by Blue October UK from One Day Silver, One Day Gold
• "Free", by The Cars from Move Like This
• "Free", by Cat Power from You Are Free
• "Free", by Dani Harmer
• "Free", by Depeche Mode, B-side to the single "Precious"
• "Free", by Jon Secada from his album Same Dream
• "Free", by Phish from Billy Breathes
• "Free", by Plumb from Beautiful Lumps of Coal
• "Free", by Powerman 5000 from Transform
• "Free", by Prince from 1999
• "Free", by Quiet Riot from Rehab
• "Free", by VAST from Music for People
• "Free", by Yu Yamada, written as the ending theme for Basquash!

Organizations[link]

• Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, a New York agency providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities
• Fight Repression of Erotic Expression, a University of Minnesota student group, now the Queer Student Cultural Center
• Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, a Lake Jackson, Texas, libertarian think-tank founded by Ron Paul
• Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, a think-tank that promotes free-market environmentalism
• Free (ISP), a French internet service provider
• Free Airlines, a Kinshasa Congolese air operator

Public services[link]

• Free education, education provided at no cost to all students
• Free public transport, zero-fare services, funded without collecting fares from passengers

People[link]

• Ann Cottrell Free, American journalist
• Arthur M. Free, American politician
• Doug Free, American football offensive tackle
• Duncan Free, Australian rower and Olympic medalist
• F. William Free, American advertising executive
• James S. Free, American journalist
• Kalyn Free, American attorney
• Marcella Free, American copywriter
• Micki Free, American guitarist
• Peter Free, Australian cricketer
• Ross Free, Australian politician
• Tony Free, Australian rules football player
• World B. Free (born Lloyd B. Free), American basketball player

See also[link]

• Freestyle (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Twin Atlantic is an alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band is composed of Sam McTrusty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Barry McKenna (lead guitar, cello, backing vocals), Ross McNae (bass guitar, piano, backing vocals) and Craig Kneale (drums, percussion, backing vocals).

History[link]

[edit] Formation, A Guidance From Colour (2007–2008)

Twin Atlantic formed in February 2007. All members previously played in other small, local bands. During 2007 they built up a strong reputation both locally and nationally. They supported Circa Survive and mewithoutyou before recording their debut EP A Guidance From Colour at Long Wave Studio in Cardiff with producer Romesh Dodangoda (Funeral For A Friend, Kids In Glass Houses, The Blackout). This culminated in the release of their debut EP on 14 January 2008 and their first single, "Audience & Audio", on 24 December 2007.

Building on support from Kerrang!, the band's profile was boosted enough for them to land support slots with Biffy Clyro and they were personally chosen by Jimmy Chamberlin to support Smashing Pumpkins at Glasgow's SECC in early February.^{[citation needed]} Over the following months, they also supported American acts The Matches, Blink-182, Finch and Say Anything on their respective UK tours.

In mid-2008, Twin Atlantic played many festivals in Scotland, including T in the Park, Belladrum Festival, RockNess, Live at Loch Lomond and Connect Music Festival.

The band signed a single deal with King Tuts Recordings, and "What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?" was released on 29 September 2008. They also completed a joint headline tour of Scotland with The Xcerts and their first set of solo headline dates across the UK.

The Glasgow four piece were chosen as the main support for The Subways on their European tour throughout October and November 2008.

The band finished a UK headline tour which concluded with a sold out gig at the Classic Grand in Glasgow on 6 December 2008.

[edit] Vivarium (2009–2010)

In March 2009, Twin Atlantic released their debut mini-album Vivarium.^[1] They released the lead single "Lightspeed" as a free download from their website on 29 July 2009, with a bonus acoustic version of the track also available. The follow-up single "You're Turning Into John Wayne" was released on 7 September 2009, with the mini-album released a week later.

On 7 March 2009, they played a sold out gig at Queen Margaret Union (QMU).

The band toured extensively in 2009 and 2010, having played Download Festival, Guilfest, T in the Park, Sonisphere and Belladrum over the summer of 2009, including supporting Taking Back Sunday on a tour of UK and Ireland in July 2009. This continued into a full tour of the UK in September and then the United States with The Fall of Troy and Envy On The Coast in March and April 2010. In June 2010, Twin Atlantic supported The Gaslight Anthem on their British mini-tour and on 7 August 2010 they played at the Hevy Music Festival.

Twin Atlantic played at the sold-out Belsonic festival in Belfast on 28 August 2010 supporting Biffy Clyro.^[2]

On 21 October 2010, the band announced, via their Facebook page, that they would be supporting My Chemical Romance for three upcoming dates.^[3]

[edit] Free (2011–present)

Twin Atlantic finished recording their new album, Free, and it was released on April 29, 2011 in the Republic of Ireland and May 2, 2011 in the United Kingdom.^[4] The album's first single was "Edit Me", released on February 14.^[5]

In January they supported Angels & Airwaves in Continental Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Second single "Free" was first played on BBC Radio 1 on the Zane Lowe show between 7 pm & 9 pm on March 10^{[citation needed]} and released on The third single released was "Time For You To Stand Up" on the 11th of July,^[6] with "Cherry Slut" and "Babylonian Throwdown" as B-sides. On the 26th of September, a fourth single was released from the album; "Make A Beast Of Myself", including the B-side "Your Amazing Lying, Lion, Lie In".

In the summer of 2012, the band will be on the Vans Warped Tour.

Band members[link]

• Sam McTrusty – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Barry McKenna – lead guitar, cello, keyboards, backing vocals
• Ross McNae – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Craig Kneale – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

EPs[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Twin Atlantic on Myspace
• Twin Atlantic on Facebook
• Twin Atlantic's channel on YouTube
• Twin Atlantic on Twitter

Natalia Kills
Natalia Kills in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Natalia Keery-Fisher
Also known as	Verbz, Verbalicious,[1] Natalia Noemi Cappuccini,[2] Verse, Candy Rapper, Verbal
Born	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 (age 25) Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Pop, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress, film director
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Adventures in Music, will.i.am, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.nataliakills.com

Natalia Keery-Fisher^[3][4] (born 15 August 1986) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and director who performs under the stage name Natalia Kills. She released her debut album, Perfectionist, in 2011.

Biography[link]

1986–94: Early life[link]

Kills was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to an Afro-Jamaican father and Uruguayan mother,^[5] where she attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. In addition, she studied classical drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[3] She stated in a post on her blog on social website, MySpace that she grew up flying between London and Florida, where she had relatives, resulting in a mixed American and English accent.^[6]

1995–2010: Career beginnings[link]

Kills made her acting debut at age 9 in 1995 in New Voices. She had a regular role as Sima on the TV sitcom All About Me and also played Amy Franks in the BBC's long-running radio drama The Archers. She began writing songs at 14,^[7] some of which were featured in films and television shows, including Bring It On 4, Sleepover, Just My Luck, and Entourage.^[4] After finishing with The Archers in 2003, Kills began pursuing a music career and attributes her musical breakthrough to winning a Radio 1 MC Battle in Leeds under the name "Candy Rapper" in 2003.^[3] She signed to the UK record company Adventures in Music and released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005. Kills' told W that her childhood nickname from her mother was "Verbal" because she talked and sang a lot. She adopted the name and variations of it as her stage name at some points during her career.^[8]

While writing music for films,^[9] Kills posted her self-produced and written demo extended play, Wommanequin on music social website MySpace in 2007 that attracted the attention of blogger Perez Hilton in 2008, her song received 2 million plays on the website and Kills reached the top of the unsigned artists chart.^[8] With offers coming in for concerts and festivals, Kills moved to Los Angeles.^[9] In LA, Kills was approached by producers, A&R and labels with contracts.^[9][10] A DJ introduced her to will.i.am after hearing her demo and learning that she did not have a record deal. In January 2008, will.i.am signed her to his record label, will.i.am Music Group. She did not sign right away as she had reservations about the music industry and will.i.am had to go to London a month later to convince her to record with him.^[9] During this time she also co-wrote and appeared on "They Talk Shit About Me" by French recording artist M. Pokora and met underground director Guillaume Doubet, who would go on to direct many of her videos, in Paris.

[edit] 2011—: Perfectionist

Kills explained in an interview that she adopted the stage name Natalia Kills at the behest of her record company, which found "Natalia Cappuccinni" hard to pronounce.^[9] She had taken on her grandmother's family name a few years prior.^[6] She explained in an interview that her stage name is based on the phrase "you killed it," and represents her tendecy to be a perfectionist.^[11] Kills released her debut album Perfectionist in April 2011 in Germany following a top ten placing by the first single, "Mirrors". The album was described as a concept album by Kills, chronicling the fact that perfection is attainable.^[7] It features production by Jeff Bhasker and Fernando Garibay,^[7] who had worked with Lady Gaga.^[12] The album was accompanied by four singles, "Mirrors", "Wonderland", "Free" and "Kill My Boyfriend". The first three singles were minor hits in some European countries but failed to chart in the US or UK. Kills opened for Kelis' European All Hearts Tour, as well as supported Robyn on her Body Talk Tour in November 2010 and early 2011. She also supported Ke$ha on the UK leg of her Get Sleazy Tour. Throughout August and September 2011, Kills supported Katy Perry on her California Dreams Tour for eight dates in Europe^[13] and São Paulo, Brazil. She also opened for the Black Eyed Peas over the summer of 2011 in Europe.^[8][11]

Kills is featured on a Junior Caldera's single, "Lights Out (Go Crazy)", along with Far East Movement. It was released on March 13, 2012.^[14] Kills also features in Tatana's single, "You Can't Get In My Head (If You Can't Get In My Bed)".

On April 4, 2012, the singer took to Twitter to announce she was back in the studio, potentially beginning work on her second studio album.

Influences[link]

Kills called Kate Bush and Alanis Morissette her most important musical influences, highlighting them as emotional artists who wrote honestly about their own experiences.^[15] She has also gone on to cite Gwen Stefani as her hero. She also claims that Depeche Mode, Prince, Vanity 6 and Freddie Mercury inspire her live performances.^[11]

Discography[link]

• Perfectionist (2011)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Natalia Kills at Allmusic
• Natalia Kills at the Internet Movie Database

Haley Reinhart
Haley Reinhart performing on the Idols Live Tour
Background information
Born	(1990-09-09) September 9, 1990 (age 21) Wheeling, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Rock, blues, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, soul
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2011–present
Labels	19/Interscope Records[1]
Website	http://www.haleyreinhart.com

Haley Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, who placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. Reinhart is currently signed to 19 and Interscope Records.^[1]. Her debut album "Listen Up!" was released on May 22, 2012 to critical acclaim.^{[2] [3]}

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Haley Reinhart was born in Wheeling, Illinois on September 9, 1990 to Patti Miller-Reinhart and Harry Reinhart.^[4] Both her parents are musicians.^[5] She began singing when she was 8 years old, and she performed with her parents’ band, Midnight, which covers rock songs from the ’60s and ’70s.^[6] She attended Mark Twain Elementary School, O.W. Holmes Middle School, and Wheeling High School.^[7] After graduating from high school in 2009, Reinhart attended Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, in 2009–2010, studying jazz.^[5] She performed at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with her high school's jazz band^[8] and at Harper College with the college's Jazz Ensemble and the Jazz Lab.^[9]

[edit] 2009–11: American Idol

Overview[link]

Reinhart first auditioned for the ninth season of American Idol, in Chicago, but did not advance to the Hollywood round, however, she returned the following year for the tenth season of Idol in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and advanced.

In the group round of the competition her group mates included fellow finalist Paul McDonald. Later in the second solo round, she performed "God Bless the Child", impressing the judges. In Vegas Round, she grouped up with fellow finalists Naima Adedapo, and Jacob Lusk, performing The Beatles's "The Long and Winding Road".

She is the only season 10 contestant who has over one million views on four of her YouTube performance videos: her renditions of Adele's "Rolling in the Deep",^[10] Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets"^[11] Ben E. King's "I (Who Have Nothing)",^[12] and her version of "House of the Rising Sun".^[13] Every video reached the one million views in less than a month. Her version of "Rolling in the Deep" reached over 2.4 million views before it was taken down, and as of now Haley's re-uploaded version of "Rolling in the Deep" has reached 6 million views so far. Her version of "House of the Rising Sun" reached 1.5 million views as of November 20, 2011, was taken down, and again reached over 1 million views. Her version of "I Who Have Nothing" reached 2 million views as of January 30, 2012, and her rendition of "Bennie and the Jets" reached 2 million views on April 2, 2012. All of these videos have been taken down.

She was also the only contestant in season 10 who received three standing ovations from the judges in consecutive weeks: "The House of the Rising Sun",^[14] Ben E. King's "I (Who Have Nothing)"^[12] and Led Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be".^[15] Her performance of "Moanin'", with fellow contestant Casey Abrams during the Top 8 results show, also received a standing ovation from the judges^[16] and was considered one of the best duets and performances of the season.^[17][18] During the American Idol Finale, Reinhart sang "Steppin' Out with My Baby" alongside jazz singer Tony Bennett which also received a standing ovation.

Musician and celebrity support[link]

She received notable musician and celebrity support from Robert Plant, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Page, Kelly Clarkson,^[19] Adam Lambert,^[20] Tom Hanks,^[21] Blake Lewis,^[22] Melinda Doolittle, Kris Allen,^[23] Ellen DeGeneres,^[24] and others, who picked Reinhart as their favorite Season 10 contestant. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page contacted Idol producers and offered Reinhart the opportunity to sing a Led Zeppelin song for Top 3 week.^[25]

Performances/results[link]

• ^Note 1 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Reinhart was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as Ashthon Jones was eliminated.
• ^Note 2 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, Reinhart was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as Karen Rodriguez was eliminated.
• ^Note 3 Due to the judges using their one save on Casey Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week, when two contestants were eliminated.
• ^Note 4 Reinhart was saved first from elimination.

[edit] 2011–present: Listen Up! and other projects

After her elimination, Reinhart had reportedly signed to Interscope Records, as per the implication of AI executive producer and director Nigel Lythgoe's tweet, which read: "Jimmy played me a song for Haley's record yesterday. Let's hope all the people that are professing love buy it and give her a great start."^[27] On May 28, 2011, Reinhart and the other American Idol top 4 performed at the opening of the new Microsoft Store at Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. On June 2, 2011, Reinhart was interviewed on Live with Regis and Kelly. She performed "House of The Rising Sun" on the show. On June 17, 2011, TVLine released an interview between Reinhart and Michael Slezak. They discussed her life before Idol, her "cannon fodder" edit on the show, her unfair treatment by the judges, her unique song choices that became known as "some of the best on Idol ever", and her future. Slezak crowned her TVLine's favorite Season 10 contestant and thanked her for "kicking ass" and being "a risk-taker and awesome". In less than a week, the article became the most commented on article on the website.^[28]

Reinhart is currently being managed by 19 Entertainment alongside fellow Idol season ten contestants Pia Toscano and James Durbin.^[29] Reinhart, along with the rest of the Top 11, toured the country as a part of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011, which ended on September 10, 2011. Reinhart, along with fellow contestants Scotty McCreery, Lauren Alaina, and James Durbin, released a Walmart Exclusive EP with her highlights from season 10 on American Idol. The tracks feature some of her popular performances such as "House of the Rising Sun" and "Bennie and the Jets" as well as a previously unreleased recording of "You Oughta Know".

On July 26, 2011, it was confirmed that Reinhart signed to 19/Interscope Records.^[1] Reinhart will release her debut album through 19 Recordings and Interscope Records. She is currently in the studio working and writing on her album. She stated she's recorded a few songs so far, and the sound direction is more of an R&B/soul music with jazzy influences. She is in the process of picking her first single, and hopes the album will be out early next year.^[1] On August 16, 2011, Reinhart was an artist featured in the Huffington Post's article entitled "15 New, Young Artists On The Rise".^[30]

Reinhart and former American Idol Season 10 contestant, Casey Abrams, recorded a holiday song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside", which released on November 21, 2011.^[31] The official video was released on November 15, 2011.^[32] The Idol duo performed "Baby It's Cold Outside" and the Beatles' "All My Loving" in The Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, and on Windy City Live. Prior the release of her album, Reinhart performed at Irvin Mayfield's Jazz Playhouse in New Orleans, singing a jazz version of "God Bless the Child". He then asked her to perform with him again at Carnegie Hall this upcoming October.^{[citation needed]} She performed an acoustic version of Wild Horses with Slash and Myles Kennedy on February 18, 2012 at the Power of Love Gala for Muhammad Ali. Slash tweeted "Myles Kennedy & I performing "Wild horses" w/amazing vocalist, @haleyreinhart for tonight's Ali event. Fn' cool." Reinhart also lead the birthday song to Ali.^[33]

For her debut album Listen Up!, Reinhart has stated that she wants to have an "organic" feel to it, stating, "I want it to be real and I want it to have substance. Depth on different levels is so important to me...I want people to be able to run away with my melodies and get lost in them and take the lyrics and be able to relate to them."^[34] She has written or co-written the tracks on her album.^[34]

The first single of Reinhart's debut album is entitled "Free" which is produced by Busbee. The single was released on March 20. She has performed "Free" and two other songs, "Wasted Tears" and "Hit the Ground Running" at various venues, including the Hard Rock Cafe. "Hit the Ground Running" was written by Reinhart, Aimée Proal and Mike Elizondo.^{[citation needed]} In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Reinhart revealed the names of some of the tracks of her album. The song first debuted number six on the Philippine Charts^[35], but later on reached itself to top 2. In addition to "Free", "Hit the Ground Running", and "Wasted Tears", other songs on her album will include "Keep Coming Back", "Undone", and "Oh My" which will feature B.o.B.^[34] Reinhart's debut album Listen Up! was released on May 22, 2012,^[36][37] and can be pre-ordered through her website.^[37]. The album has gained much support on Twitter from Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.

Reinhart guest starred on 90210 on the Season 4 episode 20 Blue Ivy and performed her single "Free."

On April 11, 2012, it was announced that Haley would be a part of the 2012 Lollapalooza lineup.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

Promotional singles[link]

Extended plays[link]

Videography[link]

Music videos[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Haley Reinhart on Allmusic
• Haley Reinhart on American Idol

Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown performing at Detroit Hoedown 2010
Background information
Origin	Dahlonega, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Country Folk rock[1] Jam band[2] Southern rock[3]
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Bigger Picture Southern Ground Atlantic
Associated acts	Blackberry Smoke, Keith Stegall, The Lost Trailers, Jimmy Buffett, Alan Jackson
Website	zacbrownband.com
Members
Coy Bowles Zac Brown Clay Cook Daniel de los Reyes Jimmy De Martini Chris Fryar John Driskell Hopkins

Zac Brown Band is an American country, Southern rock, bluegrass, reggae and folk band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, 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). The band has toured throughout the United States, including a slot on the 2009 and 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival. They have also recorded four studio albums, and charted eight Number One singles on the Billboard country charts: "Chicken Fried", "Toes", "Highway 20 Ride", "Free", "As She's Walking Away", "Colder Weather", "Knee Deep" and "Keep Me In Mind", in addition to the single "Whatever It Is," which peaked at number 2 on the same chart.

Early life[link]

Zac Brown was born July 31, 1978 in Cumming, Georgia. He was raised by his mom and step-dad, a dentist on Lake Lanier. The 11th of 12 children, Brown attended Mashburn Elementary School in Cumming, Georgia, Lakeview Academy in Gainesville, Georgia, and South Forsyth High School in Cumming. He later moved to Dahlonega, Georgia, where he graduated from Lumpkin County High School. He learned to play classical guitar at the age of 6. As a teenager, he played solo gigs in local venues, performing country and pop cover songs. “Most of my brothers and sisters are older—the oldest is 21 years older than me—so a lot of them were in college or had families of their own by the time I was growing up," said Zac Brown in a interview, but that left him time to bond with his family. Because of this, he was able to learn many things as a child growing up, such as shotgun shooting and playing instruments.

College[link]

Brown attended the University of West Georgia, where he was a member of the Zeta Kappa chapter of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. He was also a camp counselor at Camp Mikell in Toccoa, Ga. & Camp Glisson, a United Methodist summer camp located in Dahlonega, GA.^[4] While in college, he started a band and played dates in local restaurants with the band, and solo as well, to earn money to pay for school.

During this time, the band recorded an album to sell at their gigs, but disbanded during recording sessions. On September 11, 2001, after the terrorist attacks occurred, Brown decided that life was too short doing something that he did not enjoy, so he withdrew from school that day and decided to pursue music full-time.^[5]

Formation[link]

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 the fare was 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. 2004 also saw the release of the Zac Brown Band's first independent album, Far from Einstyne.

It was also in 2004 when Brown added violinist/fiddler and tenor vocalist Jimmy De Martini to the Zac Brown Band, thus beginning Brown's five-year quest to develop the band's current lineup. According to an interview with De Martini, he explained that Wyatt Durette, Brown's frequent songwriting collaborator, was working as a bartender at Sidelines Sports Bar in Kennesaw, Georgia at the time, where the Zac Brown Band frequently performed. Durette suggested De Martini to Brown, who was wanting a "lead instrument" in his band, as well as a harmony singer. After doing several performances with the band at the club, Brown asked De Martini to become a full-time member, to which he gladly obliged.^[6]

In 2005, the Zac Brown Band released its second independent album, Home Grown. That same year, John Driskell Hopkins joined the band as its bass guitarist and baritone vocalist. Hopkins, who was well known in the Atlanta area as the leader of the band Brighter Shade, first met Brown in 1998 at an open mic event hosted by Hopkins and they remained friends since. Additionally, Hopkins also co-produced the Zac Brown Band's Home Grown album.^[7]

In 2006, the Zac Brown Band recorded The Foundation with producer Keith Stegall. It was also in 2006 when Coy Bowles joined the band alternating on guitar and keyboards. Bowles and Brown first met in the late 1990s when they were both students at the University of West Georgia, where Bowles was studying biology. Bowles also vividly remembers seeing Brown perform for the first time. He explains, "I walked into a restaurant and Zac was singing and playing guitar. I heard a couple tunes and turned to my buddy and said, 'That dude might have the richest and loudest voice I ever heard!' I don’t even think Zac had a microphone and you could hear him all across the bar.”

Bowles then transferred to Atlanta's Georgia State University to study music. He subsequently became involved in Atlanta's various music scenes, and eventually formed Coy Bowles and the Fellowship in 2004. Two years later, Bowles decided to reconnect with Brown. Through mutual friends, he learned that the Zac Brown Band was scheduled to perform in Atlanta one evening. Bowles and Brown spent the afternoon prior to the performance reacquainting with each other, which ended with Brown inviting Bowles to sit in with the Zac Brown Band at that night's performance, which Bowles gladly accepted. To return the favor, Bowles invited the band to attend his own gig with the Fellowship a couple of months later, which in turn resulted in Brown and his band sitting in at that gig.

This turn of events continued for eight months until Bowles concluded that it was too overwhelming to balance his time with Brown's band and his own band and other activities, thus making a difficult decision to put the Fellowship on an indefinite hiatus and become a full-time member of the Zac Brown Band, as that was what he enjoyed the most.^[8][9]

In 2008, the Zac Brown Band signed to Live Nation Artists Records (in association with Brown's own Home Grown label), but not before Chris Fryar became yet another addition to the band. An Alabama native, Fryar attended North Texas State University and the Mississippi University for Women and made a name for himself in the Birmingham music scene.^[10] According to Fryar, a mutual friend recommended him to Brown, who was in need of a new drummer for the band. Fryar, who in turn had just finished a stint with a previous band, subsequently auditioned and shortly afterward became the Zac Brown Band's newest member.^[11]

Commercial success[link]

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, whose 2006 recording was released as a single but withdrawn after Brown decided that he wanted to release it himself.^[12] Brown also co-wrote "Simple Life", a song recorded by The Lost Trailers on their 2006 self-titled album.

In October 2008, Atlantic Records took over 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.^[13] "Chicken Fried" reached #1 on the country charts that same month, making them the first country band to reach #1 with a debut single since Heartland did so in 2006 with "I Loved Her First."^[14]

Inclusion of Clay Cook[link]

In January 2009, two months after "Chicken Fried" went to #1, Atlanta native Clay Cook joined the Zac Brown Band as its multi-instrumentalist and high tenor vocalist, thus completing the band's lineup. Cook had previously collaborated with John Mayer and Shawn Mullins, and was also a member of the Marshall Tucker Band for two years prior to joining the Zac Brown Band. According to Cook, he and Brown actually both attended and graduated from high school together, but were never acquainted with each other during that period. He explains how he first met Brown:

Brown himself admits his strong desire to add Cook to the lineup, for he believed Cook's musicianship would enhance the Zac Brown Band's overall musical style:

Cook also explained his intention to leave the Marshall Tucker Band in order to join the Zac Brown Band:

With the final Zac Brown Band lineup completed, the band released its second single, "Whatever It Is," which went to #2. In October 2009, a third single, "Toes," became the band's second Number One. The album's fourth single, and third #1, was "Highway 20 Ride". "Free" was the album's fifth single and on the week of August 21, 2010, it also peaked at Number One.

Inclusion of Daniel de los Reyes[link]

On April 25, 2012, it was announced via the Zac Brown Band's website that percussionist Daniel de los Reyes had joined the band on a permanent basis. De los Reyes had previously performed with the band as a touring musician and participated in the recording of their upcoming album Uncaged. De los Reyes has also performed with artists and groups such as Earth, Wind and Fire, Jennifer Lopez and Sting.^[18]

Awards[link]