Out In The Middle

Album: The Comeback (2021)
Charted: 86
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Songfacts®:

  • Born and raised in the small Georgia town of Cumming, Zac Brown knows all about the rural life. Here, he and his bandmates pay tribute to their upbringing, "out in the middle where the hard work meets hard living."
  • Brown penned the song with Ben Simonetti, Jonathan Singleton and Luke Combs. He described it as "southern rock storytelling about being country, being proud of what that is and being proud of living a simple life and working hard."

    "It's a tip of the hat to the people who live out in the middle of nowhere and they're happy being there," Brown added. "People that live in the city often make fun of country people until they come out and experience it for themselves. Then they really get into it. There's a reason that you stay out there."
  • Brown co-produced the roots anthem with Ben Simonetti. They double down on the track's rural America subject matter with a rousing, joyful country sound. The "swampy guitars" that Brown grew up on in Georgia served as inspiration for the instrumentation.

    "When we were coming up with the riffs for 'Out in the Middle' and started stacking guitars on it and everything, I knew it was gonna be special," he shared with Taste Of Country. "I knew it was special when we were first writing it, but they way it all came to life and everything too."
  • Zac Brown Band released "Out In The Middle" as the second single from The Comeback on January 24, 2022. It entered the Hot 100 14 years on from when "Chicken Fried," another song about the group's pride in their heritage, charted.
  • Recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic when the band longed to return to the stage, The Comeback contains tracks designed for their dynamic live shows. The Zac Brown Band named their 34-date 2022 trek across the country the Out In The Middle Tour.
  • Zac Brown Band released a remix on June 22, 2022, featuring additional vocals by Blake Shelton.

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