Country legend Randy Travis makes a point of keeping in touch with everything new and exciting in country music, and that often means attending shows as a fan. So it’s not a huge surprise that he turned up in the audience at a Zac Brown Band show on Saturday (May 21) in Frisco, Texas — but it was what happened next that made the evening particularly special.
When ZBB got wind that Travis — one of their all-time country heroes — was planning to be in the audience, the band mates decided to mix a tribute to him into their performance. “When you hear [Randy Travis] is coming to the show, you switch up the set list,” the band wrote on social media afterward. “We’re gonna love you forever!”
To celebrate Travis’ presence, they treated the crowd to a harmony-laden rendition of “Forever and Ever, Amen,” a Travis hit from 1987. ZBB posted footage of the special moment, filmed from the front rows of the crowd, as well as some snapshots of frontman Zac Brown posing with Travis backstage.
Zac Brown Band are currently in the midst of their extensive 2022 Out in the Middle Tour, which will last into mid-November. It’s the first time ZBB has been able to mount a full tour since before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; they were one of the first major country acts to scrap an entire tour amid pandemic lockdowns. In 2021, they launched their Comeback Tour, but had to cancel a few shows after Brown tested positive for COVID-19.
On Friday (May 20), the group had difficult news to share: They announced that founding member John Driskell Hopkins has been diagnosed with ALS. In their video announcement, Hopkins explained that his symptoms have been progressing slowly, and he hopes to be able to continue performing with the band for many years ahead. In their announcement, the band also shared information on how to donate to Hopkins’ Hop on a Cure Foundation, which helps fund research in the fight against ALS.