Each summer and fall since 2012, the lawn at the Buford Community Center has played host to numerous concerts featuring musical artists from various genres. Lovers of the 70s hard rock era were recently treated to a free concert performed by one of the best cover bands devoted to the era.
Approximately 3,500 people gathered on the lawn of the Buford Community Center on Saturday, June 24 to catch Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience band in concert.
Zoso was formed in the mid-90s by lead vocalist Matt Jernigan and Adam Sandling. Sandling is a multi-instrumentalist playing the electric bass guitar, keyboard and mandolin. In 2015, the band added drummer Bevan Davies who has toured with Danzig, Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains, Static X and The Cult’s Billy Duffy. The band was completed in May 2021 with the addition of lead guitarist James “Jimmy” Volpe Rotondi. Rotondi was a former member of Humble Pie, Mike Patton’s Mr. Bungle and French superstars AIR.
With 28 years and over 4,500 shows since Zoso was formed, the band has developed an incredible stage presence. The quality of their music and showmanship was so quintessentially Led Zeppelin that one would almost believe it was Led Zeppelin that they were watching. Zoso kept their audience engrossed in the musical experience.
“It was a perfect night here at the BCC,” said Todd Cleveland, director of the BCC. “The weather was great and Zoso was amazing on stage. It was great to see so many people from our community come out and enjoy a great night of live music.”
The BCC has hosted approximately 40 free outdoor concerts since it opened in 2012 and the experience is always top-notch. City of Buford workers are masters of directing traffic. They are able to get concert goers into and out of the surrounding parking lots safely and in a timely manner making the concert experience a hassle-free one.
The next free concert on the BCC lawn will be on Saturday, July 29 featuring Back in Black, an AC/DC cover band from Dallas, Texas.
All photos are scenes from Zoso – The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience who performed live at the Buford Community Center on Saturday, June 24, 2023. Photos by Alicia Payne