Zac Brown Band Wakes Up Artemis II Crew with Special Performance of 'Free
Zac Brown Band has a special surprise for the crew of Artemis II as they wake up on Friday morning. The band's song "Free" will be played at approximately 10:24 AM CT to wake up the four astronauts on board the spacecraft. Zac Brown will also deliver a personal message to the crew of the Artemis II. Fans can watch the live event on the provided link.
Artemis II marks the first manned space trip around the moon in over 50 years, with the mission starting on April 1 and scheduled to end on April 10. The spacecraft is expected to land in the Pacific Ocean shortly after 8 PM ET on Friday, about an hour after entering the earth's atmosphere. The crew of Artemis II, consisting of Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Reid Wiseman, selected the songs that woke them up each morning, featuring a mix of genres and styles.
On April 9, NASA shared the playlist that included songs like "Sleepyhead" by Young & Sick, "Green Light" by John Legend featuring André 3000, "In a Daydream" by Freddy Jones Band, and more. This event with Zac Brown Band is the second high-profile broadcast appearance for the band in spring 2026, following their cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Welcome To the Show" as the theme song for NBC's Sunday Night Baseball to kick off the MLB season.