To be honest, it kind of makes me sad how little I think of and listen to Zac Brown Band these days.
Growing up they were a staple of any country playlist. Sure, I still hear “Chicken Fried” every time I make my way to a bar, but songs like “Colder Weather,” “Whatever It Is,” “Toes,” and “Highway 20 Ride” will forever remind me of cruising down the highway with the top and doors off my piece of trash Jeep that I loved more than anything.
At last night’s CMA Awards, Zac teamed up with Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson, and Mac McAnally to honor the great Jimmy Buffett, who passed away in early September at the age of 76. While Jimmy wasn’t a country artist per se, he undoubtedly was connected to the genre and inspired so many of today’s acts and helped to unleash a sub-genre of beachy country music that makes a day by the water twice as fun. We’re talking artists like Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, and Zac Brown as well.
Kenny and Mac played “A Pirate Looks At Forty” before the cameras turned to Zac Brown and Alan Jackson on the main stage, where they played the summer beach anthem “Margaritaville” as the crowd sang every line.
Obviously, no one looked cooler than AJ, who was rocking shades and a Hawaiian shirt, but come on, that’s what we’ve come to expect from the living legend.
Zac Brown decided to show up in beach shorts and no shoes, and while I can talk about how good he sounded, how happy I am that he’s done rapping, and that it was a beautiful tribute to Buffett, there was one thing that jumped out to me that I just couldn’t shake…
His calves. His unbelievably large calves.
Is that a weird thing to notice? Absolutely, I give you that, but my goodness this guy’s got cantaloupes over his ankles.
And I wasn’t alone…
I mean, Zac Brown what have you been doing?
There is some magic that occurs when a man becomes a dad that makes his calves grow to abnormal sizes, and Zac has 5 children so that could be the reason, but my goodness I’m about to hit leg day for 2 weeks straight out of pure shame.
It seems the official performance video was taken down by ABC for some reason, but here’s a few clips of the “Margaritaville” performance where you can get another look.
While those ham hocks didn’t overshine the Jimmy Buffett tribute entirely, they certainly did a bit of distracting, at least for me. Unsure what that says about who I am, but hey, you can only be who you are.