The titans of American classic rock ZZ TOP and Lynyrd Skynyrd have announced 36 additional appearances of their joint co-headlining tour – The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour. The tour is set to stop four times in New York, including Syracuse, Bethel, Wantagh, and Darien Center.
ZZ TOP, known for their beards, hotrod cars, spinning guitars, and that magic keychain, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, known for their critically acclaimed album Pronounced Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd, have put their musical talents together for an unforgettable show performing across the United States, now with even more dates, so you have no excuse to miss it.
It was in 1969 Houston when ZZ TOP coalesced from the core of two rival bands, Billy Gibbons’ Moving Sidewalks and Frank Beard and Dusty Hill’s American Blues. ZZ Top‘s 1973 album release, Tres Hombres, catapulted them to national attention with the hit “La Grange,” which is still one of the band’s signature pieces today. Eliminator, their 1983 album was something of a paradigm shift for ZZ TOP.
Their blues roots skew was intact but their high-tech-age trappings were added to the mix that soon found a visual outlet with such tracks as “Sharp Dressed Man” and “Legs” on the nascent MTV. It was one of the record industry’s first albums to have been certified Diamond, far beyond Gold and Platinum, a reflection of sales exceeding ten million units.
As a touring outfit, they have performed before millions of fans over four continents and have been the subject of their own Grammy-nominated documentary titled That Little Ol’ Band From Texas. The band’s line-up of the bearded Gibbons and Hill and Beard, who ironically is clean-shaven, remained intact for more than 50 years. When Dusty temporarily departed the tour in the summer of 2021, Elwood Francis entered the picture accepting the directive from Dusty to be the perfect choice to stand in on the bass guitar and now handles the low-end duties for the band for the present as well as into the future.
The elements that keep ZZ TOP fresh can be summed up in the three words of the band’s internal mantra: “Tone, Taste, and Tenacity.” As genuine roots performers, they have few peers. Their influences are both the originators of the form – Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Jimmy Reed, et al – as well as the British blues rocker Jimi Hendrix who emerged generations before ZZ’s ascendance.
They have sold hundreds of millions of records over the course of their career, have been officially designated as Heroes of The State of Texas, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (by Keith Richards, no less), and have been referenced in countless cartoons and sitcoms. They are true rock icons and, against all odds, they’re really just doing what they’ve always done.
As Lynyrd Skynyrd celebrates the 50 anniversary of the band’s critically acclaimed debut album Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd’, they resonate as deeply with their multi-generational fan base today as when they first emerged out of Jacksonville, Florida in 1973.
Few ensembles have had a deep impact in creating a lifestyle as Skynyrd has. The band travels forward with a primary mission of celebrating a legacy that honors all who have had a resonating contribution to the lives of hundreds of millions of fans globally. Former members Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, and Leon Wilkeson alongside others will forever remain significant contributors to this indelible repertoire and the band’s colorful history.
Today, Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks on with a current line-up featuring Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Damon Johnson, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle.
It’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.
Van Zant
With a catalog of over 60 albums, billions of streams, and tens of millions of records sold, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remains a cultural icon that appeals to all generations.
The artist pre-sale begins on Tuesday, October 31 at 10 AM, and will be available until 10 PM on Thursday, November 2. The public on-sale begins at 10 AM on Friday, November 3. For tickets, and select VIP packages, visit here.
LYNYRD SKYNYRD & ZZ TOP: THE SHARP-DRESSED SIMPLE MAN TOUR DATES:
3/08 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena
3/09 Estero, FL Hertz Arena
3/14 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena
3/15 Knoxville, TN Thompson-Boiling Arena at Food City Ctr.
3/16 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena
3/22 Bossier City, LA Brookshire Grocery Arena
3/23 Southhaven, MS Landers Center
3/24 Macon, GA Macon Amphitheater
3/28 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
3/29 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
3/30 Charleston, WV Charleston Coliseum
4/04 Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
4/05 Tallahassee, FL Donald L. Tucker Civic Center
4/06 Huntsville, AL Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center
4/12 Evansville, IN Ford Center
4/13 Moline, IL Vibrant Arena
4/14 Green Bay, WI Resch Center
4/18 North Little Rock, AR Simmons Bank Arena
4/19 Lafayette, LA Cajundome
4/20 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center
8/09 Mount Pleasant, MI Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort #
8/15 Syracuse, NY Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview
8/16 Bethel, NY Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
8/17 Mansfield, MA Xfinity Center
8/22 Wantagh, NY Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
8/23 Gilford, NH Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
8/24 Hartford, CT The Xfinity Theatre
9/05 Alpharetta, GA Ameris Bank Amphitheater
9/07 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amph. at Virginia Beach
9/08 Bristow, VA Jiffy Lube Live
9/12 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Amphitheater
9/13 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob Music Theatre
9/14 Noblesville, IN Ruoff Music Center
9/19 Concord, CA Toyota Pavilion at Concord
9/21 Auburn, WA White River Amphitheater
9/22 Ridgefield, WA RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
# – No Support – Pre-Sale and On-Sale Dates TBD
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