Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top have announced “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man” 2024 US tour with a stop at Jones Beach on Aug 22, 2023 - tix: http://ZZTOP.jonesbeach.comThe 2024 dates will continue the legendary bands’ co-headlining run together following the initial leg of “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour” earlier this year, which marked 50 years since Lynyrd Skynyrd dropped their iconic 1973 debut album (pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd). The Outlaws will play support.
“Skynyrd Nation! We heard ya,” Lynyrd Skynyrd said in a statement. “We’re bringing the Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top to a city near you in 2024! We can’t wait to celebrate 50 Years of Skynyrd with you!” “We are beyond excited and honored to be a part of such an iconic tour joining ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd,” Black Stone Cherry said. “For us to have been asked by two bands that we hold as major influences is something we don’t take lightly and we will be bringing our A-Game (as always) as we hit some great cities with these two rock ‘n’ roll giants.” Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington passed away on March 5. Rossington was the last original member of the band that was still touring. He was 71 years old. Rossington had a significant presence and creative influence with the band up until his death, making select appearances on the road over the years. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s current touring line-up featuring Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle.
“We’re still standing, still keeping the music going,” Gary Rossington said back when the first leg of the tour was announced. “We wanted to do the guys who aren’t with us any more proud, and keep the name proud, too.” Over the summer, Lynyrd Skynyrd have revealed the video of Gary Rossington’s final performance of “Gimme Three Steps” with the band. The clip is from the band’s show on November 13, 2022 at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. It was their final performance with Rossington.
ZZ Top have been rocking strong together for five decades. The band formed in Houston, TX in 1969 and released their debut album in 1971. To date, the band has released 15 studio albums that have produced countless hit rock anthems. From 1983-1990, ZZ Top enjoyed their greatest commercial success, infusing elements of new wave, punk, and synth-pop into their bluesy riff-rock. The band released three albums in this span – Eliminator, Afterburner, and Recycler – all of which debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard Top 200. The band’s music videos for “Legs”, “Rough Boy”, and“Sharp Dressed Man” all garnered MTV Video Music Awards for the band. With 13 multi-platinum albums, and 1 diamond album, ZZ Top have sold over 25 million albums sold in the U.S. alone. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2021, founding bassist Dusty Hill passed away at the age of 72.
The Outlaws is an American Southern rock band from Tampa, Florida. They are best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky". Known as ‘The Florida Guitar Army’ by their fans, The Outlaws earned a formidable reputation as an incendiary live act touring with friends The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band and The Charlie Daniels Band as well as The Doobie Brothers, The Who, Eagles and The Rolling Stones. Henry Paul left after the group’s third album to form The Henry Paul Band for Atlantic Records, and later co-founded the multi-Platinum country trio Blackhawk. Over the next 20+ years, The Outlaws would experience rampant personnel changes, tonal missteps, ill-fated reunions and bitter trademark battles that left fans, not to mention Paul, frustrated and saddened. And with the tragic deaths of co-founding members Frank O’Keefe and Billy Jones in 1995 and songwriter/vocalist/lead guitarist Hughie Thomasson in 2007, it was feared that The Outlaws’ trail had come to an end.