It was Christmas in August at Fenway Park on Sunday (8/2) when Zac Brown announced that everyone in attendance would be receiving two tickets on a party cruise.
The Georgia native told the crowd of 37,000 the Oprah-esque news near the end of the set, right before the 9-piece outfit launched into “Same Boat,” naturally.
“Tonight we’re going to do something that even Jimmy [Buffet] would say is crazy. I’m buying every single person here a cruise for two people,” Brown said.
"This is the biggest giveaway in history, ladies and gentlemen, right here tonight at Fenway Park," the singer told the shocked audience.
"We were honored to work alongside Zac to help bring this incredible surprise to life for his fans," said Christopher Ivy, CEO of Margaritaville at Sea said later. "This was an extraordinary way to thank the fans who have supported him throughout his career, and we're proud to have helped make that incredible vision a once-in-a-lifetime reality."
“Same Boat” was apropos for a few reasons. The song dropped in the summer of 2021 as the lead single from the group’s seventh studio album, The Comeback (2021), but a new version with guest vocals from Jimmy Buffett was included on the deluxe edition of The Comeback in September 2022.
The song became the band’s 14th #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and its first to top that chart since “Beautiful Drug” in 2016.
So, fittingly, it was indeed a comeback.
ZBB was celebrating their 15th sold out concert at the home of the Boston Red Sox, a milestone Brown addressed earlier this summer when taped his Marquee Memories at the Setlist studios.
Setlist: You you're about to do your 15th show at Fenway. You're you're a guy from Georgia. Why are you going up to Boston to make your mark?
Zac Brown: Dude, that city's my home now. When I'm there, that city gets behind us from all the bars and restaurants to the people to whatever. I don't know how it happened, but I'm super grateful. Being in the Fenway Hall of Fame with Billy Joel and Paul McCartney, it's a dream. But that city gets behind us, and that's my favorite place to play.
The fan freebie was in partnership with Margaritaville at Sea, the sponsor of the group’s Love & Fear Tour. Buffett was key to Margaritaville at Sea later in his life.
The cruise line launched in 2022 through a partnership between the existing Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line and Buffett’s Margaritaville brand and carefree island lifestyle vibe.
Sadly Jimmy died in 2023, but Zac has kept his memory alive in many ways, this just being one of the latest.
The singer/songwriter is a major creative and promotional partner. Brown helped design and program Same Boat by Zac Brown, the live-music venue aboard the forthcoming Beachcomber, the cruise line's newest ship.
Scheduled to begin sailing from PortMiami in January 2027, Beachcomber hopes to blend southern hospitality with that cheeseburgers in paradise island ethos.
Video screens inside Fenway displayed a telephone number and QR code that attendees could use to register for the offer. They were instructed to text the code “SameBoatBoston” before the clock struck midnight that night to secure their certificates.
Margaritaville at Sea said the prizes could be redeemed on selected journeys in 2027. And each attendee would be allowed a guest which means close to 75,000 people could benefit from the generous promotion, one that has not been handed out in any large concert, to anyone's recollection.
Of course there was some small print: The certificate covers the basic cruise fare and an interior stateroom.
Passengers are still one the hook for taxes, port expenses, gratuities, transportation to the departure port and other charges they may rack up on the vessel.
However the value of the largess is estimated in the neighborhood of $40 million.
Zac and the band will be heading to your neighborhood during this tour. Who knows what surprises they will bless you with. Grab tix on their website.
Zac Brown Band Love & Fear 2026
8/6 XRoads41, Oshkosh, WI
8/13 PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
8/14 Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
8/15 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD
8/27-8/28 Forest Hills Stadium, Forest Hills, NY
8/29 TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann, Philadelphia, PA
9/10 T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
9/11 Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO
9/17 Credit One Stadium, Charleston, SC
9/18 The Pageant, St. Louis, MO
9/18 Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
9/19 Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City, MO
9/19 Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, FL
9/22 Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Springs, CO
9/23 The Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe, NM
9/25 Pepsi Amphitheater, Flagstaff, AZ
9/26 Yaamava’ Theater, Highland, CA
9/28 Humphreys Concerts by the Bay, San Diego, CA
9/29 Vina Robles Amphitheatre, Paso Robles, CA
10/1 The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
10/2 Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, CA
10/5 SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, Sacramento, CA
10/8 Abravanel Hall, Salt Lake City, UT
10/8 Food City Center, Knoxville, TN
10/9 Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
10/10 First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
10/11 The Monument, Rapid City, SD
10/12 Sioux City Orpheum, Sioux City, IA
10/14 State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
10/15 The Chicago Theatre, Chicago, IL
10/19-10/20 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
10/23 Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
10/24 Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, Sioux Falls, SD
11/5 KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
11/6 Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
11/19 Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
11/20 Casey’s Center, Des Moines, IA
11/21 Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
