"Free" is a song recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini ( fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukul ...

for their 2008 album '' The Foundation''. On April 12, 2010, it was released as the fifth and final single from the album. It debuted on the '' Billboard''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

charts at number 54 for the week of May 1, 2010. The song was nominated for the

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded from 1970 to 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: * In 1970 the award was known as Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group * From 1971 to 19 ...

and the

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

Music video

A live performance music video was released to CMT in May 2010. The performance was taken from the band's '' Pass The Jar'' DVD, and features a guest appearance by

Joey + Rory Joey + Rory was an American country and bluegrass duo composed of singer-songwriters Rory Lee Feek (born April 25, 1965) and Joey Feek (September 9, 1975 – March 4, 2016), who were husband and wife. Both members of the duo were vocalists and ...

. A video for the studio version was released on May 28, 2010. Both videos were directed by

Darren Doane Darren Doane (born September 20, 1972) is an American filmmaker, actor, and music video director.Mount Warning Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located west-south-west of Mu ...

during a trip to

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...

in the Australian state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 2006. Mt Warning stands 3,793 ft above sea level and is the first place that the sun touches in the morning as it rises over the Australian Mainland. As Zac sat there in the beautiful peace and quiet, he and his band were the only people on earth to be there at that point experiencing this magnificent display of nature and it is then that they wrote this song.

Critical reception

Kyle Ward of Roughstock gave the song a 4/5, saying that, although the song "get a bit too repetitious," said the song's "acoustic arrangements d da great job to highlight acBrown's voice on the verses." Mark Deming of Allmusic, in his review of the album, stated that the song, as well as "Highway 20 Ride," "show the influence of the more sentimental branches of the Texas singer-songwriter tradition."

Use in media

Used in a 2010 Busch commercial featuring the band.

Chart performance

"Free" is the fourth single from the band's debut album to reach Number One on the

charts, having peaked on the chart dated for the week ending August 21, 2010. Its peak makes Zac Brown Band the first country music act to have four Number One singles from a debut album since

Brooks & Dunn Brooks & Dunn are an American country music duo consisting of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, both of whom are vocalists and songwriters. The duo was founded in 1990 through the suggestion of Tim DuBois. Before their formation, both members were so ...

's ''

Brand New Man ''Brand New Man'' is the debut studio album by American country music duo Brooks & Dunn. It was released on August 13, 1991, by Arista Records. Produced by Don Cook and Scott Hendricks, the album produced four consecutive Number One singles on ...

'' produced four Number Ones between 1991 and 1992.

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010 singles 2008 songs Zac Brown Band songs Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Keith Stegall Bigger Picture Music Group singles Country ballads Songs written by Zac Brown