Music news: Zac Brown Band surprises 37,000 Fenway fans with free cruises
Fans arrived at Fenway Park for live music and left with an unexpected holiday for two, writes Music News Blitz’s Zinhle Radebe.
More than 37,000 Zac Brown Band fans received the surprise during the country group's 15th consecutive sold-out show at the Boston ballpark on Sunday, 2 August.
The giveaway, valued at more than $40 million, was announced by Zac Brown before the band performed their 2021 song ‘Same Boat’.
"I'm buying every single person here a cruise for two people on the boat," Brown told the crowd.
"This is the biggest giveaway in history, ladies and gentlemen, here tonight at Fenway Park!"
Nobody saw it coming
Brown had teased an amazing surprise earlier in the show, leaving fans guessing.
For Serina Ryder, who attended with her three sons, a surprise guest seemed more likely. She even wondered if Snoop Dogg might appear following the band's 2025 collaboration with the rapper on ‘Let It Run’.
"But I never thought when he announced that he would be giving away a free cruise to every single person in the audience that we would be getting that kind of gift," Ryder said.
Some fans initially wondered whether there was a catch.
"They're thinking, 'what's the catch?' But then Zac's like 'No, this is what it is,'" concertgoer Gianna Lemarier said.
"How often do you get something completely comped like that? This is amazing."
Nathan Whitcomb, who attended with his girlfriend and parents, also struggled to believe Brown was serious.
"I was like, 'Is he serious?' I didn't believe it, it didn't seem real," Whitcomb said.
"It was unbelievable. Something so generous and it was just amazing. I'm still speechless."
The cruises can be redeemed on select Margaritaville at Sea sailings over the next year.
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More than a concert
The giveaway is part of Brown's partnership with Margaritaville at Sea, the presenting sponsor of the band's 27-date Love & Fear Tour.
Brown had previously hinted that the tour would offer fans something different.
"I wanted to show our dedication to them and give them something unique," he told USA Today in April.
The company is also giving away four cruises at each show on the tour.
Brown has described the travel experiences as a way to honour fans, military veterans, first responders and educators.
Margaritaville at Sea CEO Christopher Ivy said the company was proud to help bring the Fenway surprise to life.
"This was an extraordinary way to thank the fans who have supported him throughout his career," Ivy said.
The partnership will continue aboard the new Beachcomber when it launches in January 2027.
The ship will again feature ‘Same Boat’, a live music venue curated by Brown and named after his 2021 collaboration with the late Jimmy Buffett.
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A record night at Fenway
Zac Brown Band first played Fenway Park in 2014.
Sunday's concert extended their record for consecutive sold-out shows at the venue, with the group also holding Fenway's record for the most tickets sold for a single show.
The Love & Fear Tour continues on August 13 at Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena.
The 27-date run will continue across the US before wrapping up on November 21 in Rosemont, Illinois.
The band will also join Margaritaville at Sea in Nassau, Bahamas, in January for a three-ship event featuring Paradise, Islander and the new Beachcomber.
For the thousands in the crowd, it was a night that will be hard to forget. A concert ticket had unexpectedly become a ticket to sea.
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