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Bobby opened the phone lines to a caller named Stephanie from Virginia, who introduced herself as a diehard Zac Brown Band fan. She’d been to at least 20 or 30 shows over the last 15 years, and she admitted that Bobby’s recent comments about the band’s Sphere visuals had “scared the daylights” out of her. She hadn’t even watched the videos yet, she was saving that for her upcoming Vegas trip, but she knew her husband loved the “weird stuff,” so she’d gotten used to looking past some of the darker, more eccentric imagery fans sometimes gravitate toward.
Her comparison made Bobby laugh, especially when she joked about “day of the dead stuff.” He said the Sphere visuals felt almost Ed Hardy–ish, and if he ever went to that show, he’d probably want to wear a cross or carry a rosary just in case things got dicey. Not because Zac Brown Band wasn’t great, Bobby said multiple times he thinks they’re one of the greatest country bands of all time, right up there with Alabama. But the videos he saw were… different. And if that vibe lasted 45 minutes straight, he could see himself tapping out and opting for something wholesome like the Backstreet Boys. Stephanie shared that she was heading to Vegas that Friday and would be seeing the Sphere show no matter what. Bobby wished her luck, joked that she might want to say a few Hail Marys before and after, and told her to report back if she survived the weird visuals.
That launched Bobby into stories about old concert rumors from when he was a kid: wild, sensational myths the media used to amplify. He mentioned how people once claimed Metallica were devil worshippers or that Led Zeppelin had sold their souls. And then there was the big one: the rumor that Marilyn Manson planned to lock the doors in an arena and burn the whole place down with the crowd still inside. Bobby said it spread so convincingly back then that teenagers really believed attending a Manson show was taking your life into your own hands. Eddie remembered hearing the same rumor. Bobby admitted he liked a few Manson songs but wasn’t a real fan. Still, he wondered out loud: if he had been a hardcore 17-year-old Manson fan, black eyeliner and chains and all, would he have taken the risk? Probably. That’s the kind of mindset he imagined superfans had, “Marilyn Manson or bust.”
The conversation then shifted to how many times each person had seen their favorite artists in concert. Bobby guessed he’d seen the Foo Fighters around 11 times, John Mayer about the same, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers nine times. Once he moved to Nashville and became immersed in the industry, he said he stopped going to concerts as casually, unless they were for friends. Amy asked herself the same question and landed on George Strait, whom she’d seen about four times. Eddie proudly said he’d seen Pearl Jam 15 times. Then a caller named Tracy from San Antonio joined the conversation and she blew everyone’s numbers away. She had seen Brad Paisley forty times. Since 2007, she’d traveled all over to see him on tour, even flying to New York once and ending up on the Today Show. The producers asked who in the crowd had traveled the farthest, and when they learned Tracy had come from San Antonio, they brought Brad down to meet her. He hugged her, joked about her total show count, and made the moment unforgettable.
Tracy explained that she sometimes followed Brad for several shows in a row, especially during the summers when she was off from teaching. It was a comfort thing for her, she and a friend loved the music, loved the energy, and loved Brad’s sense of humor. She even said her husband was supportive and encouraged her to enjoy the trips. Bobby listened with genuine curiosity, adding that he had no judgment. Forty shows was a lot, but in his eyes, she wasn’t hurting anyone, just a superfan doing something that made her happy. When he asked for her favorite Brad Paisley song, she picked “The World.” Bobby agreed it was a great one, even if it didn’t crack his personal top five. He mentioned his own favorites: “Whiskey Lullaby,” “She’s Everything,” “We Danced,” and “Mud on the Tires,” plus a few of Brad’s funny classics like “Ticks” and “Online.”