Many local country music fans donned in cowboy hats and boots cheered and clapped for the Zac Brown Band concert at Raley Field Thursday night.

Throughout the concert, fans cheered at lead singer, guitarist and Georgia native Zac Brown as he hollered at the crowd to rile them up.

The band is known for its hit “Chicken Fried,” a song about loving the important things in life and, of course, having your chicken fried. “Chicken Fried” was first recorded in 2003 and later re-recorded to be included in their first album, “The Foundation,” in 2008. In 2009, the single won “Breakthrough Video of the Year” from Country Music Television and USA Weekend.

In 2010, the Zac Brown Band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and the CMA award for Best New Artist.

Zac Brown Band’s performance was a real crowd-pleaser Thursday night, with audience members reciting the lyrics to their favorite songs, couples dancing together with beers in hand, and cell phones lit in the air.

The group’s music ranges from ballad-like songs such as “Colder Weather” to the “The Devil Went Down to Georgia,” a country/rock song.

In the Zac Brown Band, Jimmy De Martini is on the violin and vocals, John Driskell Hopkins is on the bass and vocals; Coy Bowles is on the guitar and organ; Clay Cook is on the guitar, organ, mandolin, pedal steel and vocals; and Chris Fryar is on the drums.

The band exuded a lot of energy while performing and even shot T-shirts out of a cannon. Brown’s voice carried the borderline rock songs with a smooth, Southern drawl. De Martin played the hell out of the violin and made you want to dance to his beat.

The band’s musicians also displayed a variety of musical talent. The drum, violin and guitar sounds layered together in a way that complemented Brown’s voice, while still holding their own.

As for Zac Brown Band’s lyrics, whether you are a country music fan or not, they speak to people with honesty.

Lines like “Now I'm fallin’ in love as she's walking away/And my heart won't tell my mind to tell my mouth what it should say/May have lost this battle, live to fight another day/Now I'm fallin’ in love as she's walking away,” from their song “As She’s Walking Away,” makes the band’s music personal to the band and listeners. The music relates to how people feel about hardship, pain and relationships.

The Zac Brown Band, with its playful, yet intimate music, is a sure Southern treat.