Photo Credit: Andrew King / CC by 2.0
Lynyrd Skynyrd will continue touring despite the death of Gary Rossington, the band’s last original member, last month.
Following the March passing of the band’s last original member, Gary Rossington, the remaining members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and family estates have released a statement announcing the group’s plans to continue touring — including a summer trek alongside ZZ Top.
Dale Rossington, Gary’s widow and longtime Lynyrd Skynyrd backing singer, released a statement on coming to terms with his passing and his body of work with the band.
“It’s been my honor and privilege to share the stage with him for all these years. His music touched so many millions of people around the world, and Gary was always the first to say how ‘Skynyrd’s music is bigger than me or any one person,’” says Rossington. “Gary made it known at every chance to express how timeless the music was, and it was always his goal to keep the music alive for his brothers because that was always their dream.”
“He spent his entire life trying to carry on that dream for Ronnie (Van Zant), Allen (Collins), Steve (Gaines), and all the others over the years,” she continues. “His dream will continue thanks to Johnny (Van Zant), Rickey (Medlocke), and the rest of our bandmates to continue to carry his legacy and music on for future generations.”
Johnny Van Zant, the band’s singer who stepped into his late brother Ronnie’s shoes when the band reformed to tour in the ’80s, shared a statement regarding the importance of the Skynyrd concert experience for fans. He says the Lynyrd Skynyrd tour will continue in honor of those who created the band to honor its legacy.
“Gary, along with my brother Ronnie and Allen, started this band and left us all a legacy of music that has stood the test of time and crossed three generations of fans,” says Van Zant. “The music they created and the music we created together since 1987 was always meant to be experienced live.”
Gary Rossington’s final performance with Lynyrd Skynyrd occurred at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in November 2022. A recording of that performance will air on PBS in August.
Rossington and Lynyrd Skynyrd were honored at Sunday night’s CMT Music Awards with an all-star medley of “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” featuring Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Slash, Cody Johnson, Paul Rodgers, Chuck Leavell, LeAnn Rimes, and Wynonna Judd. Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke were present at the show, which took place at the Moody Center in Austin.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top kicks off July 21 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and continues through mid-September. The band will also play several other festival dates this spring and early summer.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Tour Festival Appearances
April
- 29 | Jubilee Days – Brandon Amphitheater – Brandon, MS
May
- 05 | Thunder Beach at Frank Brown Park – West Panama City Beach, FL
- 19 | Lost Highway Motorcycle Show & Concert 2023 – Bushkill, PA
- 20 | Jacobs Pavilion at Nautica – Cleveland, OH
- 27 | Laughlin Event Center – Laughlin, NV
June
- 16 | Country Summer Music Festival 2023 – Santa Rosa, CA
- 17 | San Diego County Fair – Del Mar, CA
July
- 14 | Lakefront Music Fest 2023 – Prior Lake, MN
- 15 | Red River Valley Fair – West Fargo, ND
August
- 04 | Oregon Jamboree Music Festival 2023 – Sweet Home, OR
- 06 | Sturgis Buffalo Chip – Sturgis, SD
Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top
July
- 21 | iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
- 22 | MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL
- 23 | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre – Alpharetta, GA
- 28 | Walmart AMP – Rogers, AR
- 29 | Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, TX
- 30 | The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Woodlands, TX
August
- 07 | Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – Denver, CO
- 10 | Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
- 11 | Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA
- 13 | Ak-Chin Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
- 17 | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Maryland Heights, St. Louis, MO
- 19 | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, Chicago, IL
- 20 | Ruoff Music Center – Noblesville, IN
- 25 | Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
- 26 | Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
- 27 | Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
September
- 01 | PNC Music Pavilion – Charlotte, NC
- 02 | Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
- 03 | The Pavilion at Star Lake – Burgettstown, PA
- 08 | Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY
- 09 | Hersheypark Stadium – Hershey, PA
- 10 | PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
- 15 | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek – Raleigh, NC
- 16 | Ocean City Bike Fest – Ocean City, MD
- 17 | Freedom Mortgage Pavilion – Camden, NJ