Zac Brown Band To Perform at NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ Opening

Zac Brown Band is ready for some baseball. The southern rock group is set to sing the opening for NBC’s weekly MLB coverage, Sunday Night Baseball.

Videos by American Songwriter

“It’s humbling, honestly, to have our band’s name mentioned in the same breath as theirs in this context means a lot,” Brown told The Associated Press. “We’ve spent many years just trying to make music that connects with people. Something like this tells you that it’s reaching further than you ever imagined.”

The opening will debut ahead of the Atlanta Braves’ April 12 game against the Cleveland Guardians.

“I’m a Georgia boy through and through, so having this debut on a night when the Braves are playing, that’s the kind of thing you just can’t script,” Brown said. “Our fans know how much Atlanta means to us. To have this moment tied to our team, in our home state, it really does make it feel full circle.”

The opening will feature Zac Brown Band’s cover of Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression Part 2.”

Tripp Dixon, NBC Sports’ creative director, told the outlet that the song was selected due to its use of an organ and its first line: “Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends.”

“Those were the two elements we felt like, holy cow, that sounds like something to build this idea around,” Dixon said, alluding to MLB being known as “The Show.” “I think just in terms of [Brown’s] music and trying to bring people together, it just felt like really the right fit in terms of letting them put their own spin on a classic.”

Zac Brown Opens up About ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ Opening

View this post on Instagram

Zac Brown Band shot the Sunday Night Baseball opening in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, back in March.

“It was one of those experiences where you step back and think, how did we get here?” Brown said. “We put everything we had into the performance. Watching it come together with the visuals, the production, it took on a whole new life.”

“The folks at NBC Sports really understood the energy we were going for,” he added. “It felt like a genuine collaboration, and when I finally saw the finished product, I was really proud.”

Brown’s band is in good company. Carrie Underwood’s rousing rendition of Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You” has played before each of the NFL’s Sunday Night Football games since 2013. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Lenny Kravitz debuted his version of Elvis Presley’s “A Little Less Conversation” for the NBA’s Sunday Night Basketball.

Zac Brown Band, who will soon set off on tour, has been leaning into sports-themed music opportunities in recent months. The band played at a March Madness music festival. They are also set to headline UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest this June.

Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for TNT Sports