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    Zac Brown Band to perform at Daytona 500 concert

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Zac Brown hasn't put together the set list for his Daytona 500 kickoff concert next month, but he's got a pretty good idea of how it will go.

    "It would have to be up-tempo, rockin'," Brown said, "... tryin' to get everybody pumped up for the race."

    It's a pedal to the metal kind of time for the group over the next month.

    First up: the Grammy Awards, where the band is up for country album of the year on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.

    Brown said band members are excited about a return to the show, where they won best new artist in 2010.

    "It's the awards show. It is the one," Brown said. "The other ones, there's a lot of politics, in my opinion. This one is legitimately chosen by your peers as an artist. I think you're judged by your music at the Grammys."

    Then it's on to Florida for the Feb. 24 Daytona 500, NASCAR's season-opening race. The seven-piece band will play a miniconcert during the Budweiser Pre-Race Show, with two songs aired live.

    Like the Grammys, it's a milestone moment for the band. And not just musically. Brown grew up in Georgia where the Daytona 500 is as big as the Super Bowl. Maybe bigger.

    "It was always the big sporting event," Brown said. "Anytime there was major championships or major races, they were usually on TV. They were usually a part of what was going on when we were all hanging out together."

    ___

    Online:

    http://zacbrownband.com

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