LIVE: ZZ Top & Lynyrd Skynyrd Bring Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour to CMAC

Bringing a combination of over 100 years of classic southern rock music mixed with soul, blues and country, Hall of Fame legends, ZZ Top and Lynryd Skynyrd made a stop during the current leg of their Sharp Dressed Simple Man tour on Thursday, August 24 at CMAC in Canandaigua, NY.

On a warm summer night in Upstate New York, both rock giants performed for their fans, many of whom have been listening to their music since their inception over fifty years ago. ZZ Top formed in 1969 and was the longest-running band with an unchanged lineup in the history of popular music until the death of long-time bassist Dusty Hill in 2021. Hill’s long-time guitar tech Elwood Francis has replaced him per Hill’s wishes. Guitar virtuoso Billy Gibbons sings lead and drummer Frank Beard remains steadfast and entertaining as always. Despite the loss of Hill two years ago, ZZ Top remains a band of consummate musicians and entertainers. They are as popular today as ever with their songs, stage antics, humor, and matching outfits and guitars. Elwood has become well known for bringing his 15-string bass out on their opening number “Got Me Under Pressure.”

Following opening act The Curt Towne Band, ZZ Top kicked off the night a little after 7:30 pm opening with “Got Me Under Pressure,” “I Thank You,” and “Waitin’ for the Bus.” That Little Ole Band from Texas wasted no time bringing their distinctive sound to the exhilarated audience. Their 16-song set included ’80s mega hits from their 1983 Eliminator album “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” and “Gimme All Your Loving” as well as classics such as “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” “Just Got Paid,” and “La Grange.”

ZZ Top left the crowd in high spirits as they anticipated the co-headliner Lynyrd Skynyrd taking the stage.

After suffering the major loss of original founding member and guitarist Gary Rossington in March 2023, it is no surprise that Skynyrd dedicated its show in remembrance of and paid tribute to all its past members over the years. After announcing this historical tour in December 2022 and being no stranger to loss, Rossinginton’s passing left another huge void to fill in Skynyrd’s lineup. Filling his monumental shoes is founding member of 1990’s rock group Brother Cane’s Damon Johnson.

Make no mistake, Skynyrd fans are true fans and they are all about the music, history, and legacy of the band from its founding members to its long-time current members including legendary frontman Johnny Van Zant. Van Zant is the younger brother of founding member and lead singer Ronnie Van Zant who along with several other members of the band was killed in a plane crash on October 20, 1977. Also on tour was guitarist and vocalist Rickey Medlocke. Medlocke, who recorded with the band in the early days from 1971 to 1972 and then left to front the Southern rock band Blackfoot, rejoined Skynyrd in 1996 whom he continues to tour and record with today.

Lynyrd Skynyrd kicked off the second half of this co-headliner show opening with “Workin’ for MCA,” “Skynyrd Nation,” and “What’s Your Name.” The crowd erupted again as Skynyrd belted out all their foot-stomping, driving Southern rock classics in their 15-song set such as”Whiskey Rock-a-Roller,” “Saturday Night Special,” and “Gimme Back My Bullets,” as well as iconic ballads “Tuesdays Gone,” “Simple Man,” and of course their biggest tribute tune of all time “Free Bird” as their encore.

It almost seems as if the name Lynyrd Skynyrd in itself is synonymous with tribute, legacy, and timelessness as the music resonates through time and space and will live on forever. Lynyrd Skynyrd is alive and present. This was no more apparent than from the love and thundering applause and ovation they received from their fans at CMAC.

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