Zac Brown Band and Train are set to headline the 2027 American Express Concert Series, bringing southern rock and pop-rock to the PGA WEST Stadium Course driving range in La Quinta on consecutive nights this January. The announcement sets up a now-familiar pairing of genres for the annual golf-and-music weekend, with Zac Brown Band performing Friday, January 22, and Train following Saturday, January 23.
According to KESQ, the concerts take place after each day's tournament rounds wrap at PGA WEST in La Quinta, California. Zac Brown Band will take the stage after the second round on Friday, January 22, 2027, performing southern rock staples including “Chicken Fried,” “Cold Weather,” and “Knee Deep.” Train will entertain fans the following night, Saturday, January 23, after the third round and the 54-hole cut, bringing its blend of rock and pop to close out concert weekend.
“The concert series continues to be a highlight of tournament week,” Pat McCabe said, according to the station's report, adding that Zac Brown Band and Train are “iconic acts.” The booking keeps alive a pattern organizers have leaned on in recent years, pairing a country-leaning act with a rock or pop headliner each weekend — a tradition that included Old Dominion and OneRepublic in 2026, Little Big Town and Journey in 2025, and Keith Urban in 2024, per WORKS Entertainment. Train itself isn't new to the driving-range stage — the band previously headlined the series in January 2024, performing on the same PGA WEST venue after the third round of play.
Tournament Dates and Ticket Tiers
The 68th annual American Express PGA Tour golf tournament runs Thursday, January 21, through Sunday, January 24, 2027, across PGA WEST and La Quinta Country Club, the same report notes. Daily and weekly tickets are now on sale, with general admission priced at $95 to $150 per day or $274 for the week. General admission covers tournament play across all three courses — the PGA WEST Stadium Course, the Nicklaus Tournament Course, and La Quinta Country Club — plus access to public fan venues from January 21 through 24. Friday and Saturday general admission tickets also include entry to the Zac Brown Band and Train concerts following play.
Fans looking for more comfort can step up to Clubhouse tickets, running $155 to $210 per day or $507 for the week, which add indoor seating, patio views, premium food and beverage, and two complimentary drink tickets daily on top of general admission benefits; Friday and Saturday Clubhouse passes include concert access as well. Pete's Place tickets, priced at $295 to $320 per day or $640 weekly, offer a hospitality venue overlooking the 18th tee and 10th green with complimentary beer, wine, and light bites, plus concert series access on Friday and Saturday. At the top end, Champions Club tickets run $580 to $655 per day or $1,460 for the week, featuring a private, climate-controlled space overlooking the Stadium Course's 18th green, hosted lunch, full premium bar service, preferred parking, and — on Friday and Saturday — VIP concert viewing with complimentary bar service. American Express card members can get 20% off general admission, Clubhouse, Pete's Place, and Champions Club tickets by using an American Express card at online checkout, subject to terms and exclusions.
A Three-Course Format With Deep Desert Roots
The American Express is the only tournament on the PGA Tour that uses a three-course rotation with a 54-hole cut, meaning professionals play alongside amateur partners for three days before the field narrows for final-round play, according to Golf News Net. The event also kicks off the PGA Tour's early-season West Coast Swing as the tour's first mainland United States stop of the year. The 2026 edition carried a $9.2 million total prize purse, a $400,000 increase over 2025, with winner Scottie Scheffler taking home $1.656 million, per Golf Digest.
The tournament traces back to 1960, when it launched as the Palm Springs Desert Golf Classic before becoming the Bob Hope Desert Classic in 1965, a name it carried for decades until American Express took over title sponsorship in 2020. The Stadium Course where the concerts take place is itself a piece of golf lore — it debuted in 1986 as a sequel to TPC Sawgrass and was briefly pulled from tour play after players complained about its severity, a history tied to its famous 17th-hole island green nicknamed “Alcatraz.”
Volunteers and Charity Dollars Behind the Scenes
Roughly 1,200 local and visiting volunteers help run tournament week, managing crowds, standard-bearing, and hospitality across the three courses and the driving-range concert venue. Their work supports more than just the golf — proceeds from tickets and concert passes feed directly into Impact Through Golf, the tournament's host foundation, which has generated more than $68 million in charitable donations supporting over 100 non-profit organizations in the Coachella Valley since the event's 1960 founding.
Last November, Impact Through Golf awarded $1.1 million generated from 2025 tournament proceeds to 15 Coachella Valley non-profits, including emergency relief funding for local wildfire recovery. It's a reminder that behind the concert lineups and ticket tiers, the American Express remains, at its core, a fundraising engine for the desert communities around La Quinta.
