When American Authors brings the Best Night of My Life Tour to Last Exit Live, it will be a sort of hometown show for them.
Lead singer Zac Barnett’s mom lives in the Valley, and his fiancée grew up in Glendale.
“It’s awesome to go there,” Barnett says via Zoom. “I always have a bunch of family — the in-laws, my mom, all of them.”
On Sunday, March 5, Barnett is bringing his band back to Arizona to play an intimate show at Last Exit Live in Phoenix. He’s considering accepting requests, but the gig will showcase the band’s fourth studio album, “Best Night of My Life.”
“We’re playing small venues because it’s our first proper headlining tour in a while and we’re just starting to go into this album cycle,” he says. “And it just felt right. We wanted to keep it understated and just ease back into it.
“You can also expect all the feelings and heartfelt fun. You’re going to be laughing, crying and laughing again. No, it’s going to be a really, really beautiful show.”
“Best Night of My Life” is a companion piece to American Authors’ biggest hit, “Best Day of My Life.” Thanks to that single, Barnett has been able to live out his dream “in, essentially, the fullest capacity.”
“I always tell new, up-and-coming artists and just professionals in general that it doesn’t happen overnight,” he says.
“We had to work endless years and hours working part-time jobs so we could press our own CDs. You just have to keep touring, never stop writing, never stop exploring and never stop collaborating.
“Because we were networking and booking our own tours, we met a producer who we kept writing with and we were able to write ‘Best Day of My Life,’ which changed everything.”
He says he loves the song, which has become a highlight reel favorite like Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
“Everyone can sing it,” he says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 years old or 58 years old, everyone’s going, ‘Just a small-town girl.’ It’s one of those things. I like to think ‘Best Day of My Life’ has that effect. When the chorus comes on, you may have never heard it, but subconsciously, you know it.”
Celebrating a decade in the business, American Authors is proud of “Best Night of My Life” as well.
“It’s really special,” he says. I’m telling people that it’s the most American Authors-sounding album that the Authors have ever done. We wanted this album, from beginning to end, to really encompass everything we’ve done over the last 10 years.
“So, we really wanted to take influence and these little nuggets from our entire career and just have those sprinkled into this album everywhere.”
Essentially, it’s a greatest hits of American Authors’ sound.
He’s looking forward to bringing that sound to the Valley, which he first visited 10 years ago.
“We had a friend who took us out, and he took us to Old Town Scottsdale,” he says.
“So, we’re barhopping and I’m in love with it. I thought it was amazing. It was so clean. It’s beautiful. The weather’s great. I loved it so much that my crew — the American Authors guys — started calling me the Scottsdale (spokesman). I couldn’t stop talking about it. When I moved out West (to LA), my mom, who likes to follow me around the country, said she wanted to move to Phoenix.”
His fiancée’s parents moved to Scottsdale, so Barnett was on “cloud nine.”
“I still love it — if not more.”
American Authors w/Billy Raffoul
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday, March 5
WHERE: Last Exit Live, 717 S. Central Avenue, Phoenix
COST: Tickets start at $25
INFO: lastexitlive.com, weareamericanauthors.com
