Lynyrd Skynyrd at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK -- April 13.
Saturday, April 13, 7 p.m.
Vibrant Arena at the MARK, 1201 River Drive
Two legendary rock outfits will share one Moline stage on April 13 with the eagerly awaited arrival of "The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour," which will deliver an unforgettable night of classic hits by two bands enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top.
Originally formed in Jacksonville, Florida, as My Backyard in 1964, Lynyrd Skynyrd was initially comprised of Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass guitar), and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969, and the group released its first album in 1973, having settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern-rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," their smash successes including such top-10 Billboard hits as 1975's Nuthin' Fancy and 1977's Street Survivors. But after releasing five studio albums and one live album, Lynyrd Skynyrd's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie's brother Johnny Van Zant as lead vocalist, and later Billboard hits for the resurrected rock outfit included 2003's Vicious Cycle, 2009's God & Guns, and 2012's Last of a Dyin' Breed. Presently, the musicians continue to tour and record musicians including Johnny Van Zant, the group's lead vocalist from 1987 to the presents, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. To date, Lynyrd Skynyrd has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. since 1991, when Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales (not including album sales for the band's first 17 years). In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the band on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," and Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.
Formed in 1969 in Houston, Texas, ZZ Top was composed, for 51 years, of vocalist/guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill's death in 2021. The group developed a signature sound based on Gibbons' blues-guitar style and Hill and Beard's rhythm section, and originated after the 1969 demise of Gibbons' previous band Moving Sidewalks. Within a year, they signed with London Records and released the appropriately titled ZZ Top's First Album in 1971. Subsequent releases such as 1973's Tres Hombres and 1975's Fandango!, as well as the singles "La Grange" and "Tush," gained extensive radio airplay, and by the mid-1970s, ZZ Top had become renowned in North America for its live act, including the "Worldwide Texas Tour" from '76 to '77 that was a critical and commercial success.
After a hiatus, ZZ Top returned in 1979 with a new musical direction and image, with Gibbons and Hill wearing sunglasses and matching chest-length beards. With the 1981 album El Loco, the musicians began to experiment with synthesizers and drum machines. They consequently established a more mainstream sound and gained international success with 1983's Eliminator and 1985's Afterburner, which integrated influences from new wave, punk, and dance-rock. The popularity of these albums' music videos, including those for "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Legs," gave them mass exposure on MTV, with the Afterburner tour setting records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour of 1986. With the group's original bassist eventually replaced, per Hill's wishes, by their longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis, ZZ Top has, to date, released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 50 million albums worldwide. They have won three MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2004, the members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top bring their “The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour” to the Moline amphitheater on April 13 with an additional set by Black Stone Cherry, admission to the 7 p.m. concert event is $45.50-251, and tickets are available by calling (800)745-3000 and visiting VibrantArena.com.
