Since 2002 the Zac Brown Band has worked with influences from genres like country, bluegrass, reggae, and artists as seemingly as disparate as James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett, to create a sound that has cross-cultural appeal. Following his creation of the band, Zac Brown and his crew of Coy Bowles, Clay Cook, Jimmy De Martini, Chris Fryar, and John Driskell Hopkins, got down to work on Home Grown, which was released in 2005. Though not a commercial smash hit, it established ZBB as a force to be reckoned with.

Up to this point, the Zac Brown Band had only been a part-time gig, with all other hours of the day, at least for Zac Brown, taken up by a restaurant he owned. The sale of the resturant a few years later granted the band time to perform full time. They were able to produce and release their first major-label album, The Foundation, in 2006.

It's three number one singles in "Chicken Fried," "Toes," and "Highway 20 Ride," helped launch the band to national stardom. "Toes," with its celebration of the tropical lifestyle, is one of the album's songs with the largest Buffett influence. In 2009, the band went on their first major tour in support of the album, which included a stint as an opening act for the Dave Matthews Band.

They also began work on their next album, which came in the form of 2010's You Get What You Give. It was praised as a more consistent work than their previous album, but it also continued a ZBB tradition of incorporating influences from across the musical spectrum. The band's tribute to Jimmy Buffet in "Toes" paid off when he joined them in recording "Knee Deep." They also collaborated with fellow country artist Alan Jackson. Their reputation now established, the band went on tour again. Several Zac Brown Band concerts during the summer of 2011 included performances with Kenny Chesney.