ATLANTA — For the past 20 years, Georgia native Zac Brown and his band have performed more than 1,000 concerts, true workhorses on the road, moving from small bars to massive arenas and stadiums. And after a few years taking New Year’s off, Brown decided to get the band together for a one-off hometown gathering at State Farm Arena on Dec. 31 with Georgian and “American Idol” runner-up Will Moseley as one of the openers. The set list, said Brown in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will be far heavier on high energy party songs than normal given the occasion. “It’s always a big night for a party and we decided it was a good time to finish a year that’s had a lot of challenges,” Brown said. “It’s a great reset for everybody. Music is powerful medicine and we want to give everyone a good dose of it going into the new year.” The band performed several stadium dates opening for Kenny Chesney in the spring and summer, including a stop at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in May. The last time they performed a headlining show in metro Atlanta was at Truist Park in 2022. State Farm Arena will be both relatively intimate and a bit like a family reunion. “Everybody’s families can come and hang out backstage,” he said. “It’s going to be a sea of kids. Our band now has 26 kids total. I never imagined I’d have five myself. But I can’t imagine not having them.” Brown is a natural fan of State Farm Arena in part because he has run a restaurant there called Zac Brown’s Social Club for the past six years. In 2010 and 2011, the band played New Year’s shows at Phillips Arena, which is what the place was called before it was renovated in 2018. “This is a special one for us because of our ties to the place. It’s like a big full circle homecoming.” He said he also is happy to still have John Driskell Hopkins, who is suffering from ALS, in the band. “The ALS is slow moving and we’re grateful for that,” Brown said. “He can provide harmonies and be on the road with us. He was the first person in the Zac Brown Band. He’s the best background singer I’ve ever heard anywhere.” Brown, who is in the midst of a contentious divorce after a very brief marriage with model and actress Kelly Yazdi and has his Cumming home up for sale, said he has managed the stress with help from a nutritionist, a trainer and a vocal coach. “When you go through storms, you focus on things that matter and do the right thing by people,” he said. “You can’t let anyone steal your joy. It distracts you from being creative and being present with your family.” His entrepreneurial bug has led him to create branded products over the years including wine and speakers. His latest: biltong beef jerky ( $19.99 for 8 ounces on zacbrownband.com ). “It’s really healthy as opposed to jerky smoked with tons of salt,” he said. Brown wants to exemplify the life and lifestyle of Jimmy Buffett, a friend of his who died last year. “He created his own world, an entire culture of his own,” he said. “I want to follow in his footsteps. He was a mentor. And the great thing about him is he was so down to earth. I was watching football with him in Key West once and we saw someone fishing out on the rocks outside. He went out there and didn’t kick him out. He showed him where to throw the bait and the best bait to use. Then he came back inside and kept watching football.” He recalled Buffett telling him that success doesn’t make him any better than anybody else. “You have to lead by example and earn people’s respect,” said Brown. “I’m blessed to have such an incredible crew and band of people who trust me. And I trust them.” Indeed, several band members have been with him since “Toes” and “Chicken Fried” became radio hits in 2009, including Hopkins, Clay Cook, Jimmy De Martini and Coy Bowles. Brown said he feels “better than I have ever felt. Creativity is flowing. The songs are coming. We’re making a new album. We have huge announcements next year. Our goal is to keep elevating what we’re doing.” Although he won’t say what that big announcement is, he did tease that it has something to do with Las Vegas, home to the Sphere in Las Vegas, which has hosted extended residencies for U2, Phish and now the Eagles. Brown has seen all three shows. “It’s 4 acres of 16K video on the walls. It’s 160,000 speakers,” Brown said. “The place is mind blowing.” ——— IF YOU GO Zac Brown Band New Year’s show 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31. $59.50 and up. State Farm Arena, 1 State Farm Drive, Atlanta , ticketmaster.com . ——— ©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Additionally, safety measures at the kindergarten were found to be lacking, putting the well-being of the children at risk. Insufficient emergency preparedness, inadequate supervision, and poorly maintained facilities were among the issues highlighted in the report. It is crucial for educational institutions to prioritize the safety and security of their students, and immediate steps must be taken to address these shortcomings.None
New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr sustained a left hand injury and possible concussion in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 14-11 victory over the New York Giants. The Saints feared Carr fractured the hand, per reports, and he was slated to undergo further testing. He reportedly had a cast on the hand when exiting the stadium. Saints interim coach Darren Rizzi said Carr may have to enter the concussion protocol. Carr was injured when he tried to leap for a first down late in the final quarter. He was near the sideline and went airborne, landing hard on the left hand with this face then slamming into the turf as he landed out of bounds with 3:59 left in the game. Jake Haener finished up the game for the Saints. Carr completed 20 of 31 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and one interception for New Orleans. Overall, Carr has passed for 2,145 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He missed three games earlier this season due to an oblique injury. --Field Level Media
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In an alarming case of privacy violation and illegal data collection, a man has been arrested for allegedly acquiring personal information from over 400 cellphones and using it to profit by selling lucky bags online. The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed by the authorities, reportedly earned a monthly income exceeding ten thousand dollars from his illicit activities.In conclusion, Xiaomi's YU7 SUV is a game-changer in the world of electric vehicles, offering a combination of cutting-edge technology, stylish design, and sustainable performance. With its debut at MIIT and a starting price of 300,000 RMB, the YU7 is poised to make waves in the automotive market and set a new standard for smart mobility. Stay tuned for more updates on this groundbreaking vehicle from Xiaomi.
The future outlook of A-share market in China has been the subject of much speculation and debate among investors and analysts. With the recent introduction of various policy measures aimed at bolstering the market and restoring investor confidence, the stage is set for a potentially positive turn of events.
Despite the ongoing investigation, NVIDIA remains optimistic about the outcome and is confident in their ability to address any issues that may arise. The company's reputation for excellence and innovation has been a cornerstone of their success in the semiconductor industry, and they are determined to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct and legal compliance.As the dust settled on this epic showdown, both teams could take away valuable lessons and insights from the game. The Beijing Ducks will look to regroup and come back stronger, while the Shanxi Loongs will savor the sweet taste of victory and use it as motivation moving forward.
LOS ANGELES -- Film Independent has announced its nominations for the 40th annual edition of the Film Independent Spirit Awards. "A Real Pain" has two nominations for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Performance for Kieran Culkin. "Nightbitch" also has two, with nods for Amy Adams as Best Lead Performance and Best Editing. The Walt Disney Company was well represented on the TV side, with "Agatha All Along," "English Teacher," "Shogun" all getting nods for Best New Scripted Series. "Shogun" has five nominations in total, "English Teacher" has four and "Agatha All Along" scored three. "Under The Bridge" has two nominations, Lily Gladstone gets the nod for Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series and Best Supporting Performance. "Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color," "Social Studies" and "Photographer" are up for Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series while "Sugarcane" is nominated for the Truer Than Fiction Awards. "Anora" and "I Saw The Glow" lead all nominations with six each on the film side. On the TV side, "Baby Reindeer also has four nominations. The 40th Film Independent Spirit Awards will be handed out Feb. 22, 2025. The full list of nominations is below. 2025 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS BEST FEATURE(Award given to the producer) Anora Producers: Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan I Saw the TV Glow Producers: Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Dave McCary, Emma Stone, Sarah Winshall Nickel Boys Producers: Joslyn Barnes, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, David Levine Sing Sing Producers: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Monique Walton The Substance Producers: Tim Bevan, Coralie Fargeat, Eric Fellner BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to director and producer) Dìdi Director/Producer: Sean Wang Producers: Valerie Bush, Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters In the Summers Director: Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio Producers: Janek Ambros, Lynette Coll, Alexander Dinelaris, Cynthia Fernandez De La Cruz, Cristóbal Güell, Sergio Alberto Lira, Rob Quadrino, Jan Suter, Daniel Tantalean, Nando Vila, Slava Vladimirov, Stephanie Yankwitt Janet Planet Director/Producer: Annie Baker Producers: Andrew Goldman, Dan Janvey, Derrick Tseng The Piano Lesson Director: Malcolm Washington Producers: Todd Black, Denzel Washington Problemista Director/Producer: Julio Torres Producers: Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Emma Stone JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD- Given to the best feature made for under $1,000,000. (Award given to the writer, director, and producer) Big Boys Writer/Director/Producer: Corey Sherman Producer: Allison Tate Ghostlight Writer/Director: Kelly O'Sullivan Director/Producer: Alex Thompson Producers: Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Chelsea Krant, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson Girls Will Be Girls Writer/Director/Producer: Shuchi Talati Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne Jazzy Writer/Director/Producer: Morrisa Maltz Writer/Producer: Lainey Shangreaux Writers: Andrew Hajek, Vanara Taing Producers: Miranda Bailey, Tommy Heitkamp, John Way, Natalie Whalen, Elliott Whitton The People's Joker Writer/Director: Vera Drew Writer: Bri LeRose Producer: Joey Lyons BEST DIRECTOR Ali Abbasi The Apprentice Sean Baker Anora Brady Corbet The Brutalist Alonso Ruizpalacios La Cocina Jane Schoenbrun I Saw the TV Glow BEST SCREENPLAY Scott Beck, Bryan Woods Heretic Jesse Eisenberg A Real Pain Megan Park My Old Ass Aaron Schimberg A Different Man Jane Schoenbrun I Saw the TV Glow BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Joanna Arnow The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed Annie Baker Janet Planet India Donaldson Good One Julio Torres Problemista Sean Wang Dìdi BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE Amy Adams Nightbitch Ryan Destiny The Fire Inside Colman Domingo Sing Sing Keith Kupferer Ghostlight Mikey Madison Anora Demi Moore The Substance Hunter Schafer Cuckoo Justice Smith I Saw the TV Glow June Squibb Thelma Sebastian Stan The Apprentice BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE Yura Borisov Anora Joan Chen Dìdi Kieran Culkin A Real Pain Danielle Deadwyler The Piano Lesson Carol Kane Between the Temples Karren Karagulian Anora Kani Kusruti Girls Will Be Girls Brigette Lundy-Paine I Saw the TV Glow Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin Sing Sing Adam Pearson A Different Man BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE Isaac Krasner Big Boys Katy O'Brian Love Lies Bleeding Mason Alexander Park National Anthem René Pérez Joglar In the Summers Maisy Stella My Old Ass BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Dinh Duy Hung Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Jomo Fray Nickel Boys Maria von Hausswolff Janet Planet Juan Pablo Ramírez La Cocina Rina Yang The Fire Inside BEST EDITING Laura Colwell, Vanara Taing Jazzy Olivier Bugge Coutté, Olivia Neergaard-Holm The Apprentice Anne McCabe Nightbitch Hansjörg Weissbrich September 5 Arielle Zakowski Dìdi ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD- Given to one film's director, casting director, and ensemble cast His Three Daughters Director: Azazel Jacobs Casting Director: Nicole Arbusto Ensemble Cast: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus, Rudy Galvan, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Randy Ramos Jr., Jay O. Sanders BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer) Gaucho Gaucho Directors/Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw Producers: Christos Konstantakopoulos, Cameron O'Reilly, Matthew Perniciaro Hummingbirds Directors: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía "Beba" Contreras Co-Directors/Producers: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Jillian Schlesinger Producers: Leslie Benavides, Rivkah Beth Medow No Other Land Directors/Producers: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Brd Kjge Rnning Patrice: The Movie Director: Ted Passon Producers: Kyla Harris, Innbo Shim, Emily Spivack Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Director: Johan Grimonprez Producers: Rémi Grellety, Daan Milius BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director) All We Imagine as Light France, India, Netherlands, Luxembourg Director: Payal Kapadia Black Dog China Director: Guan Hu Flow Latvia, France, Belgium Director: Gints Zilbalodis Green Border Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium Director: Agnieszka Holland Hard Truths United Kingdom Director: Mike Leigh PRODUCERS AWARD presented by Bulleit Frontier Whiskey - The Producers Award, now in its 28th year, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films. Alex Coco Sarah Winshall Zoë Worth SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD - The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 31st year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. Nicholas Colia Director of Griffin in Summer Sarah Friedland Director of Familiar Touch Pham Thien An Director of Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD- The Truer Than Fiction Award, now in its 30th year, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie Directors of Sugarcane Carla Gutiérrez Director of Frida Rachel Elizabeth Seed Director of A Photographic Memory BEST NEW NON-SCRIPTED OR DOCUMENTARY SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer) Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color Executive Producers: Idris Elba, Johanna Woolford Gibbon, Jamilla Dumbuya, Jos Cushing, Khaled Gad, Matt Robins, Chris Muckle, Sean David Johnson, Simon Raikes Co-Executive Producer: Annabel Hobley Hollywood Black Executive Producers: Shayla Harris, Dave Sirulnick, Stacey Reiss, Jon Kamen, Justin Simien, Kyle Laursen, Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jeffrey Schwarz, Amy Goodman Kass, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart Co-Executive Producers: David C. Brown, Laurens Grant Photographer Executive Producers: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Pagan Harleman, Betsy Forhan Co-Executive Producers: Anna Barnes, Brent Kunkle Ren Faire Executive Producers: Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Dani Bernfeld, Lance Oppenheim, David Gauvey Herbert, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Sara Rodriguez Co-Executive Producers: Abigail Rowe, Christian Vasquez, Max Allman Social Studies Creator/Executive Producer: Lauren Greenfield Executive Producers: Wallis Annenberg, Regina K. Scully, Andrea van Beuren, Frank Evers, Caryn Capotosto BEST NEW SCRIPTED SERIES (Award given to the Creator, Executive Producer, Co-Executive Producer) Baby Reindeer Creator/Executive Producer: Richard Gadd Executive Producers: Wim De Greef, Petra Fried, Matt Jarvis, Ed Macdonald Diarra From Detroit Creator/Executive Producer: Diarra Kilpatrick Executive Producers: Kenya Barris, Miles Orion Feldsott, Darren Goldberg Co-Executive Producers: Ester Lou, Mark Ganek English Teacher Creator/Executive Producer: Brian Jordan Alvarez Executive Producers: Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King Co-Executive Producers: Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn Fantasmas Creator/Executive Producer: Julio Torres Executive Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Olivia Gerke, Alex Bach, Daniel Powell Co-Executive Producer: Ali Herting Shgun Creators/Executive Producers: Rachel Kondo, Justin Marks Executive Producers: Edward L. McDonnell, Michael De Luca, Michaela Clavell Co-Executive Producers: Shannon Goss, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Brian Jordan Alvarez English Teacher Richard Gadd Baby Reindeer Lily Gladstone Under the Bridge Kathryn Hahn Agatha All Along Cristin Milioti The Penguin Julianne Moore Mary & George Hiroyuki Sanada Shgun Anna Sawai Shgun Andrew Scott Ripley Julio Torres Fantasmas BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Tadanobu Asano Shgun Enrico Colantoni English Teacher Betty Gilpin Three Women Chloe Guidry Under the Bridge Moeka Hoshi Shgun Stephanie Koenig English Teacher Patti LuPone Agatha All Along Nava Mau Baby Reindeer Ruth Negga Presumed Innocent Brian Tee Expats BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES Jessica Gunning Baby Reindeer Diarra Kilpatrick Diarra From Detroit Joe Locke Agatha All Along Megan Stott Penelope Hoa Xuande The Sympathizer BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN A NEW SCRIPTED SERIES How to Die Alone Ensemble Cast: Melissa DuPrey, Jaylee Hamidi, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Arkie Kandola, Elle Lorraine, Michelle McLeod, Chris "CP" Powell, Conrad Ricamora, Natasha Rothwell, Jocko Sims The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Searchlight Pictures, Disney+, NatGeo, Hulu, Disney+ and this ABC station.Hochul legislation to keep senior citizens warmBarkley is NFL's version of Ohtani