ZZ TOP Announces March/April 2025 Leg Of 'The Elevation Tour'

ZZ TOP has announced the dates for the March/April 2025 leg of "The Elevation Tour".

The trek will kick off on March 5 in Dothan, Alabama and will conclude on April 12 in Forrest City, Arkansas.

Tour dates:

March 05 - Dothan Civic Center @ Dothan, AL
March 06 - Saenger Theatre @ Mobile, AL
March 09 - Pompano Beach Amphitheater @ Pompano Beach, FL
March 10 - Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall @ Fort Myers, FL
March 12 - Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa @ Tampa, FL
March 14 - St. Augustine Amphitheatre @ St. Augustine, FL
March 18 - Anderson Music Hall @ Hiawassee, GA
March 19 - North Charleston Performing Arts Center @ North Charleston, SC
March 21 - Crown Theatre @ Fayetteville, NC
March 22 - Bell Auditorium @ Augusta, GA
March 23 - Montgomery Performing Arts Centre @ Montgomery, AL
March 26 - John Hunt Auditorium @ Tifton, GA
March 28 - SKyPAC @ Bowling Green, KY
April 01 - Brown County Music Center @ Nashville, IN
April 02 - Blue Gate Performing Arts Center @ Shipshewana, IN
April 03 - FIM Capitol Theatre @ Flint, MI
April 05 - State Farm Center @ Champaign, IL
April 06 - The Riverside Theatre @ Milwaukee, WI
April 08 - Andrew J Brady Music Center @ Cincinnati, OH
April 11 - Show Me Center @ Cape Girardeau, MO
April 12 - East Arkansas Community College @ Forrest City, AR

This past July, Elwood Francis, who has played bass for ZZ TOP for the past three years, told Guitar World magazine that it's been "weird" stepping in for the band's late bassist Dusty Hill.

The 72-year-old Hill died on July 28, 2021 in his sleep at his Houston, Texas home.

ZZ TOP played its first show following Hill's death on July 30, 2021 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Francis made his live debut with ZZ TOP on July 23, 2021 at the Village Commons in New Lenox, Illinois after Hill was forced to return to Texas to address a hip issue.

"When I first started doing it, Dusty was just sick and going home for a few weeks," Francis told Guitar World. "It was entirely different; I was just helping out. I didn't have to worry about the weight of the crown because I was just helping. They pulled me aside and said, 'Can you honestly say you can't play his parts?' I said, 'I can do it, but I don't think people would enjoy me doing it.' They said, 'You can cover him for a few weeks.'"

Francis, whose place in ZZ TOP was made permanent shortly after Hill's death, went on to say that he still doesn't consider himself part of the band.

"We'd done some gigs when Dusty passed, and by that time, I wouldn't say I was comfortable because I'm still not fucking comfortable," he explained. "But I had a piece of paper on the riser for the first two shows if I got in trouble, and by the third show, I got rid of that, and just did the show.

"It's just weird," he continued. "Dusty is their bass player. I'm not the bass player. I'm not in the band. I'll never be in the band. I shouldn't be in the band. It's Dusty's thing. Sure, I'll still play with them, but it's a weird thing, man."

Hill joined ZZ TOP a year after its formation in 1969.

In a June 2023 interview with Classic Rock, ZZ TOP frontman Billy Gibbons said about how Francis, who was ZZ TOP's longtime guitar tech, came to join the band following Hill's passing: "Dusty was a great guy, a swell singer. He provided a solid platform for me to solo without having to look back. He was always on it. Dusty used to say: 'If I'm late to the stage, be sure to give my guitar to Elwood.' Elwood is a family member; he's been with us for three decades. And sure enough, Elwood picked up the parts and pieces [to replace Hill in ZZ TOP]. But whereas Dusty played with his fingers, Elwood uses a pick. It's a little sharper. He brings a little more finesse. And at the first rehearsal he showed up with a full beard longer than mine."

Gibbons admitted "there was a lot of curiosity" surrounding ZZ TOP's return to the live stage without Hill. "'What's this going to be like?' 'Can this guy hold up the bottom of the TOP?' In a trio it's a big challenge," he said. "Everything has to be working at a hundred and ten per cent. But Elwood was ready, having been a part of it for so long… [Dusty] said: 'The show must go on.' That was his wish, and we granted it."