Zac Brown Band stunned thousands of fans by announcing what they called “the biggest giveaway in history” during a recent concert.
On Sunday, August 2, the group played Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, in front of a crowd of about 37,000 people.
The lineup featuring Zac Brown, Jimmy De Martini, John Driskell Hopkins, Coy Bowles, Chris Fryar, Clay Cook, Matt Mangano, Daniel de los Reyes, and Caroline Jones gave attendees more than just a live show to remember.
According to The Boston Globe, everyone in attendance also received a free cruise vacation, with the trips offered through Margaritaville at Sea.
That means roughly 37,000 concertgoers were handed cruise getaways, with the overall value reportedly reaching about $40 million.
So why did it happen, and what led to such an enormous giveaway?
The concert marked the band’s 15th straight sellout at Fenway Park, setting a new venue record for consecutive sold-out performances. The band made its Fenway debut in 2014 and has been breaking its own records at the Boston venue ever since, eventually being inducted into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame in 2022 alongside Paul McCartney and Billy Joel.
To celebrate the milestone, Brown addressed the stadium and told fans:
“Tonight we’re going to do something that even Jimmy {Buffet} would say is crazy. I’m buying every single person here a cruise for two people on the boat. This is the biggest giveaway in history ladies and gentlemen, right here tonight at Fenway Park.”
After making the announcement, the band launched into “Same Boat” — an especially appropriate song choice for the moment. The track is a 2021 collaboration between Zac Brown Band and the legendary Jimmy Buffett, and the band released an updated duet version featuring Buffett’s vocals in 2022.
This Boston show is part of the band’s 27-date “Love & Fear” tour, which kicked off in July and runs through November. The tour is presented by Margaritaville at Sea, a cruise line inspired by Jimmy Buffett’s iconic Margaritaville brand that operates voyages from Florida to destinations including the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
While the band has been giving away four cruises at each show on the current tour as part of the sponsorship promotion, the Fenway Park show was special. All 37,000 attendees received the cruise gift rather than just a select few, making it a unprecedented gesture of gratitude to fans.
For anyone wondering how to redeem the offer, there are some details attached.
NBC News says the offer only applies to selected Margaritaville at Sea sailings.
Fans who received the gift also need to book their trip within the next year, rather than letting the opportunity sit unused.
Christopher Ivy, chief executive officer of Margaritaville at Sea, said:
“We were honored to work alongside Zac to help bring this incredible surprise to life for his fans.
“This was an extraordinary way to thank the fans who have supported him throughout his career, and we’re proud to have helped make that incredible vision a once-in-a-lifetime reality.”
people went to Fenway for Chicken Fried and left with a whole cruise, that's a proper encore
— chaos (@Hooky310) August 3, 2026
As one X user said: “People went to Fenway for Chicken Fried and left with a whole cruise, that’s a proper encore.”