Throughout the summer, we’ll be developing a brand podcast that will have a new name and a new sound. In the meantime, we’ll be revisiting some of our favorite interviews from our first four years while still keeping you up-to-date on things to do in and around Atlanta. In our very first podcast, then-AJC music writer Melissa Ruggieri had an in-depth conversation with John Driskell Hopkins, the multi-instrumentalist in the Zac Brown Band known for his distinctive beard and baritone voice. Sadly, Hopkins was recently diagnosed with ALS, a progressive, debilitating disease that attacks nerve cells that control muscles throughout the body. Despite this, he recently said he hopes to continue to perform with the band for “many years to come.” The Zac Brown Band will be playing at Truist Park on June 17, 2022, and Rodney Ho will bring us a new interview with Hopkins in the coming days in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and online at ajc.com.

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