Zac Brown Opens Up About Taking Risks with His Solo Album: 'I Want the Freedom to Be My Own Artist'

Over two decades of making music with Zac Brown Band, guitarist and lead singer Zac Brown has seen plenty of successes — including Grammy wins, number one hits and sold-out tours.

But now, with Brown's first solo album, The Controversy, the musician is making a distinct departure from his bluegrass-tinged history with the band.

"My music interests have grown," says Brown, 41, of the solo record, which features inspiration from his love of electronic music and synth pop. "Not everything is going to have a steel guitar. I wanted to make something fun. And I want the freedom to be my own artist."

Brown, who continues to make music with Zac Brown Band despite a postponed tour (their latest record, The Owl, is available now), has "the best of both worlds," he says. "I've got the band, which is more of a purist approach. And I like having the freedom to do both."

Zac Brown's The Controversy

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The father of five acknowledges that some fans might not be ready to make the musical leap with him right away.

"Some of [the music] is polarizing," he admits. "There are so people who don't like things to change a whole lot. But that's okay. I like that people passionately love the old stuff so much. I can't complain about that. And I will keep making [music like that], but I can't do just that, because then it's not interesting to me."

Kevin Mazur/Getty Zac Brown

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Continues the singer, "I love creating electronic music, I love creating acoustic music. I'm not going to stop making music. I don't want to abandon anything. I just want to grow."

As far as touring post pandemic? Brown is hopeful.

"I miss connecting with our fans," he says. "It's an uncertain time. But we will ride again. And we will have a smarter, leaner machine when we come back."

For all the details on Zac Brown's new solo project, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.