Their tour will continue thanks to two classic rock bands that are as tenacious as their tunes. Alabama will have a stop on “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top in 2024. In particular, April 6 at the Von Braun Centre Propst Arena in Huntsville.
Nov. 3 is when tickets go on sale. They cost $36.50 to $347 plus fees through Ticketmaster and the VBC Box Office, which is located at 700 Monroe St.
Perhaps the best Southern rock band of all time is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hits like “Sweet Home Alabama,” “What’s Your Name,” “Saturday Night Special,” “Simple Man,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” “Gimme Three Steps,” and the Tyrannosaurus Rex of power-ballads, “Free Bird,” are among the group’s iconic guitar riffs. The group was created in Jacksonville, Florida.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the band’s highly regarded debut album “(Pronounce it ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd).” ‘The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour’ was announced at the same time.
ZZ Top, a blues-rock trio that was founded in 1969 in Houston, made the genre famous and profitable. During MTV’s heyday in the 1980s, a triptych of classic music videos featured the latter three songs. Signature songs include “La Grange,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Tush,” “Just Got Paid,” “Waitin’ for the Bus,” “Legs,” and “Gimme All Your Lovin’.”
Elwood Francis, a former guitar tech for The Black Crowes and other bands, plays bass in the band’s current lineup, replacing the late Dusty Hill, the 72-year-old bassist from ZZ Top’s classic era. Frank Beard, the drummer, is renowned for being the only member of the band without a beard. Francis made his bass guitar debut, a bright yellow 17-string, at ZZ Top’s 2022 Huntsville event.
Guitarist Gary Rossington, the last remaining original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away in May at the age of 71. However, the group has persevered with a potent roster that brings the hits and spirit that millions of fans like from Skynyrd.
Led by the late singer Ronnie Van Zant’s brother Johnny Van Zant, Lynyrd Skynyrd includes veteran guitarist Rickey Medlocke (best known for his work with Blackfoot and other Southern rock favourites), drummer Michael Cartellone (ex-Charlie Daniels Band, John Fogerty, etc.), guitarist Mark Matejka (ex-Charlie Daniels Band), keyboardist Peter Keys (credits include Parliament-Funkadelic, Marty Friedman, and Marty Balin), bassist Keith Christopher, and lead singers Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle.
In 2021, guitarist Damon Johnson, who was born in Alabama and gained notoriety in the 1990s with hard-rock band Brother Cane and after performing with Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy, started to replace an ailing Rossington. Johnson formally joined Lynyrd Skynyrd following Rossington’s passing.
Keyboardist Billy Powell, bassist Leon Wilkeson, drummer Bob Burns and Artimus Pyle, and guitarists Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, and Ed King were among the top Skynyrd players of the era, in addition to Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant.
ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd have shared tours in the past. They collaborated on several 2019 performances in addition to entire tours in 1999 and 2000, according to the website Ultimate Classic Rock.
Black Stone Cherry, a rock band from Kentucky best known for hits like “White Trash Millionaire” and “Blame It on the Boom Boom,” will open for Skynyrd/ZZ Top ’24 in Huntsville.