ZZ Top Kicks Off Tour With Lynyrd Skynyrd: Set List and Interview

ZZ Top launched their Sharp-Dressed Simple Man co-headlining tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd on Friday evening at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The Texas legends delivered a tight 16-song set which touched on moments from their entire catalog. 1983's Eliminator recently hit the 40-year mark, while 1973's Tres Hombres will celebrate its own 50-year milestone next week. Both were well-represented during the night's performance.

You can see the complete set list, as well as videos, below.

The current tour marks a reunion for the two groups, who toured together in 1999 and 2000, with a brief reprise in 2019 when Lynyrd Skynyrd opened two dates on ZZ Top's 50th anniversary tour. But the roots go much further back for the two bands. "It was kind of a rekindling of kindred spirits. It’s a little known fact that ZZ Top gave Lynyrd Skynyrd one of their first official paying gigs, way, way back in the day," guitarist and vocalist Billy Gibbons laughs during a conversation with UCR following the first show. "We had an enjoyable moment to compare notes over five decades of sharing the stage with Lynyrd Skynyrd. It’s been a really interesting and incredibly long run."

It's easy to think the Florida heat could have kept the fur-covered guitars in the road cases. But as ZZ Top broke into "Legs," the fabled instruments were right there, now representing a signature part of the song's legacy 40 years later. "It’s over 100 degrees," Gibbons confirms. "But you know, we’ve done it before and we’ll do it again. Somebody said, 'A fur guitar in this heat? Are you crazy?' I said, 'Well, we’ve been crazy for a long time. I think we’ll get by.'"

Watch ZZ Top Perform 'Legs' in West Palm Beach

Some of the most poignant moments of the night were provided by the people who weren't there at the gig. Though Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington passed away earlier this year, he was still very much part of the concert. "I was walking across the stage just now and Gary’s setup is still in place," Gibbons shares. "What was really warming...was that last night, I was standing at the microphone and Lynyrd Skynyrd had just left the stage. I looked down and there was a piece of tape marking the spot that Gary would occupy. So he’s still with us in no small terms. All of those guys, you know, it’s that Skynyrd thing. They live on."

The Sharp-Dressed Simple Man tour, which sees the two bands alternating as headliners, continues tonight in Alpharetta, Georgia, before moving to Tennessee in the coming week.

Watch ZZ Top Perform 'Sharp Dressed Man'' in West Palm Beach

Watch ZZ Top Perform 'La Grange' in West Palm Beach

Watch ZZ Top Perform 'Just Got Paid' in West Palm Beach

Watch ZZ Top Perform 'Tube Snake Boogie' in West Palm Beach

Watch Lynyrd Skynyrd Perform 'That Smell' in West Palm Beach

Watch Lynyrd Skynyrd Perform 'Call Me the Breeze' in West Palm Beach

Watch Lynyrd Skynyrd Perform 'Free Bird' in West Palm Beach

ZZ Top, iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Florida, 7/21/23 
1. "Got Me Under Pressure"
2. "I Thank You"
3. "Waitin' for the Bus"
4. "Jesus Just Left Chicago"
5. "Gimme All Your Lovin'"
6. "Pearl Necklace"
7. "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide"
8. "I Gotsta Get Paid"
9. "My Head's in Mississippi"
10. "Sixteen Tons"
11. "Just Got Paid"
12. "Sharp Dressed Man"
13. "Legs"
14. "Brown Sugar"
15. "Tube Snake Boogie"
16. "La Grange"

Lynyrd Skynyrd, iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Florida, 7/21/23 
1. "Workin' for MCA"
2. "Skynyrd Nation"
3. "What's Your Name"
4. "That Smell"
5. "Whiskey Rock-a-Roller"
6. "The Needle and the Spoon"
7. "Saturday Night Special"
8. "The Ballad of Curtis Loew"
9. "I Know a Little"
10. "Tuesday's Gone" (Dedicated to Gary Rossington)
11. "Simple Man" (Dedicated to First Responders and the Troops)
12. "Gimme Three Steps"
13. "Call Me the Breeze" (J.J. Cale cover)
14. "Sweet Home Alabama"
15. "Free Bird"