ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd are teaming up for a tour this spring.
Dubbed the Rebels & Bandoleros Tour, the shows will kick off on
May 12 in Wichita, Kansas, and finish three weeks later in Orange
Beach, Alabama.
The two bands have been on the road together before. 11 years
ago they joined forces for a tour that lasted almost a year and
they also played alongside each other back in 1974, when ZZ Top
invited a then up-and-coming Lynyrd Skynyrd to be part of
The 
Outlaw Tour that
year.
In a prepared statement, Skynyrd's Johnny Van Zant said, "We
love the guys in ZZ Top, and their music, and can't wait to get
back out on the road with them. This show is an event that the fans
are going to love." Billy Gibbons was similarly enthusiastic,
saying, "Rebels & Bandoleros is more of a coming together of
friends than a mere tour. We're delighted to be hitting the road
with our Skynyrd brethren once more. It's going to be a great
ride."
Both bands will be touring in support of new material. Earlier
this month, ZZ Top released Texicali. The four track
digital collection marks the band's first studio recordings in nine
years. The collection serves as a preview of the band's forthcoming
album. No release date has been announced for the full-length
studio album, which remains untitled, but a late summer or early
fall release is expected. The four tracks that
comprise Texicali, like the forthcoming album, were
produced by Rick Rubin and the band's Billy F Gibbons and include
"I Gotsta Get Paid", "Chartreuse", "Over You" and
"Consumption".
Lynyrd Skynyrd will tour in support of their forthcoming
album, Last Of A Dying Breed. The band's thirteenth
studio effort is scheduled to hit stores on August 21. The new
album marks a reunion with producer Bob Marlette, who produced the
band's last release, 2009′s Gods & Guns.
"We had a lot of fun and the music really flowed for us, so
that's when you know you are onto something good," said guitarist
Gary Rossington in a press release. "We can't wait to let the fans
hear these songs and play 'em live."
Rebels & Bandoleros tour dates: