Zac Brown's celebratory sound continues to connect

It's not easy to develop your own sound, but the Zac Brown Band has done just that.

The country act's latest album, "Uncaged," which dropped in July, has some subtle differences from prior releases, but it's cut from the same cloth as such records as 2008's "The Foundation" and 2010's "You Get What You Give."

"I think that's a good thing," fiddler Jimmy De Martini said by phone from Atlanta. "We have a nice thing going on. It's cool to have an identifiable sound."

The Zac Brown sound is a celebratory and, at times, wry slice of contemporary country. Brown, an affable singer-songwriter, and his solid crew craft playful, atmospheric tunes that borrow as much from the island brogue of Jimmy Buffett as the country foundation of Alabama. "Chicken Fried," the band's anthemic breakout hit, which topped the country charts in 2008, epitomizes that sound.

Expect to experience "Chicken Fried" and about five new songs, among other tracks, when the group performs tonight at Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach.

"It's something new and interesting for us," De Martini said about the recent material. "We're coming along as a band. We just want to get better and better."

The group has come a long way since it formed in Atlanta a dozen years ago. The act slowly came together, but it keeps morphing. Even after "Chicken Fried," the band made a move to improve when Brown added gifted and versatile multi-instrumentalist Clay Cook. "We had a good three-part harmony going on," De Martini said. "But Clay can sing so high that he made it a terrific four-part harmony. He also sings lead. He has become a huge part of this band playing guitar, organ and pedal steel."

Cook, who defected from the Marshall Tucker Band, is flexible. "I'm open to whatever," he said. "I wanted to be part of a band that was in its early years. You couldn't have that with Marshall Tucker, which has been around since the '70s. I wanted to be in a band that was going to climb upward."

Since Cook joined the group in 2009 it has hit the top of the Billboard country charts seven times.

"I think the reason we have so much success with our songs is that people can relate to them," Cook said. "One of the reasons there is a connection is because we live this stuff. Some recording artists don't have anything to do with their songs, and that couldn't be further from what we're about. So people connect with what we do in the South or in Seattle. I think we write songs with universal appeal."

IF YOU GO 

Who Zac Brown Band

When 7 tonight

Where Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach, 3550 Cellar Door Way

Cost $30 to $75

More info www.livenation.com

Ed Condran, edwardcondran@gmail.com