ZZ Top Gives Major Update About Band’s Future

2025-06-01

Classic rock band ZZ Top

ZZ Top have made an announcement regarding the band’s future, and it’s good news for longtime followers of the Texas classic rock band. – Author: Charles Ken, Photo from Ross Halfin

ZZ Top are still the sharp dressed men that they were decades ago, and they still tour heavily during the summer months. Of course, it’s not the same without Dusty Hill, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 72. Hill was the band’s longtime bass player, so they certainly have a gap in their lineup without his charm and onstage charisma, but the rest of ZZ Top are still very active on the concert circuit.

ZZ Top’s summer tour is set to start with its first leg in Canada and the northern United States, running from June 1 to June 27. Then, the tour’s second leg kicks off on August 1 and runs through September 3, wrapping up with a homecoming show in Midland, Texas.

Earlier this year, ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard was forced to back out of commitments with the band due to “health issues.” So, will he be on ZZ Top’s summer run?

The answer is yes, as the band has announced through a statement from the group’s management that the drummer will be back in the fold and “see the tour through to its completion in October.”

The group is currently on tour, too, so Beard will be back with the band for all of the shows starting now.

“We’re happy that Frank is back with Elwood [Francis, bass player] and yours truly, BFG,” singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons said in a statement. “We missed him and are looking forward to turning it up and rocking out with him as has been the case for the last few hundred or so decades. His complete recovery is cause for celebration and that’s just what we intend to do on an open-ended basis. Welcome back, pardner.” Beard added, “It’s good to be back. See you out there.”

ZZ Top first announced Beard having to leave the group on March 15 with a social media post from the band stating, “Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top’s management, has announced the band’s drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term.”

At the time, the statement added, “Beard, along with fellow ZZ Top members Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim.”

Then, in a statement issued on April 24, promoters Live Nation announced that Beard will not be joining his bandmates on their Australian tour, “as recommended by medical personnel.”

Beard has been the drummer of ZZ Top dating back to 1969, when he took on the duties as co-founder Dan Mitchell left the band. Gibbons, Mitchell and bass player Lanier Greig had founded the band that same year.

It’s fantastic to see Beard back with his bandmates and able to hit the road again. His medical condition is a mystery, though, as they never really shared details of what procedures he was undergoing. As long as he’s healthy and ready to hit the road, though, that’s music to the ears of ZZ Top lovers.

Charles Ken
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Posted by Charles Ken | Music, Rock, Rock News

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