ZZ Top Continues Summer Tour Without Frank Beard as Michael Monahan Steps In

ZZ Top will continue their "The Big One" summer U.S. tour without longtime drummer Frank Beard. The band will perform with founding vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Elwood Francis, who joined after co-founder Dusty Hill died in 2021.

Drummer Michael Monahan is expected to fill in for Beard. A band spokesperson did not respond to requests for details about Beard's condition or the reason for his absence.

The announcement follows the band's last-minute cancellation of a show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. At the time, management cited "unforeseen personnel matters" on social media. No further explanation has been given.

Gibbons addressed the cancellation, saying, "Insurmountable obstacles require canceling our Hollywood Bowl performance. Friends, fans and followers of ZZ Top are the best in the business and the band is counting on everyone to bear with us for this brief interruption."

Beard, 77, has dealt with health issues in recent years. In March 2023, ZZ Top said Beard "temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus." Longtime drum tech John Douglas filled in, as he did in October 2022 when Beard missed a Paris show due to an emergency appendectomy.

Beard, who joined ZZ Top in 1969, returned to the group last year after recovering from foot and ankle problems. Gibbons said at the time, "We're happy that Frank is back with Elwood and yours truly, BFG. We missed him and are looking forward to turning it up and rocking out with him as has been the case for the last few hundred or so decades. His complete recovery is cause for celebration and that's just what we intend to do on an open-ended basis. Welcome back, pardner!"

Beard has played on every ZZ Top album from 1971's "First Album" through 2012's "La Futura."

"The Big One" tour is scheduled to stop at the Marymoor Amphitheater in Redmond, Washington, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, with later dates in Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The final U.S. show is set for Oct. 9 in Port Wentworth, Georgia, before the band heads to Mexico and South America in November.