A spokesperson for the Church of Satan has emphatically denied that there was anything Satanic about the opening weekend of Zac Brown Band‘s Love & Fear residency at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
The Church’s Rev. Jared Mammon tells TMZ that ZBB’s concert was not a Satanic ritual, and disparaged social media hysteria that interprets “everything that amounts to glorified Halloween decorations as ‘Satanic.'”
He also said that he hopes the controversy will spur some people to learn more about what really goes on in the Church of Satan or Satanic rituals and perhaps read the Satanic Bible.
Why is a Satanic priest’s expertise being called on for information about a country show?
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Well, after their Vegas residency’s opening night, ZBB caught some flak on social media over stage imagery that some viewers interpreted as Satanic.
Why Do Some People Think Zac Brown Band Performed a Satanic Ritual at Their Las Vegas Show?
The rumors revolve around ZBB’s immersive and theatrical production.
Specifically, there’s one part of the set where Brown dons a crown made of bones as a larger-than-life skeleton looms on a screen behind him.
On social media after the performance, some fans thought that the band’s Vegas show didn’t gel with the homey country hits they’re best known for, including “Chicken Fried” and “Knee Deep.”
(Regarding the comments about the show being off brand, it’s important to remember that ZBB and Zac Brown’s music has always ranged pretty widely. Who remembers Brown’s genre-bending 2019 solo album The Controversy?)
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And some even said that they thought ZBB’s show could be dangerous, either to impressionable children by swaying them toward devil worship or to audience members who could unwittingly be involved in some sort of demonic energy-harvesting component of the show.
What Has Zac Brown Band Said About Their Las Vegas Residency?
The band hasn’t addressed the Satanic ritual rumors.
They did say that they worked hard to make their production on their Sphere shows larger than life. Before the shows kicked off, Brown said he was “going into debt” to make sure the show was everything he wanted it to be.
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While not directly addressing the controversy, a press release sent out after ZBB’s opening weekend highlights other aspects of the show, including a photo of Brown and his band mates dressed in white, and their multi-instrumentalist Caroline Jones donning angel wings.
Alive Coverage
Onstage, Brown described the show as a metaphor for his own life trajectory “from darkness to light, from pain to joy.”
He also emphasized that he wants to encapsulate that duality of all human experience, acknowledging life’s most painful moments while also clearing the way for brighter days ahead.
“I believe we’re all exactly where we’re supposed to be. But time stops for none of us, so no more darkness,” the singer says at the end of the show.
“Bob Marley said, ‘From the darkness there must come out a light.’ No destinations, no regrets, no more fear,” he adds. “It’s f–k yes, or it’s no. It’s the only remedy, so let’s go.”
What Else Happened During Zac Brown Band’s Opening Weekend at The Sphere?
ZBB played a hit-packed 26-song set list during opening weekend at The Sphere, including debuts of several of the new songs on their newly released Love & Fear album.
One of the highlights was seeing band mate John Driskell Hopkins able to make it to the Vegas stage. Hopkins announced his ALS diagnosis, and since then, he’s offered periodic updates on his health.
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