Credit: Rodney Bursiel ZZ Top is busy celebrating its 50th anniversary with a major U.S. tour, but frontman Billy Gibbons will take some time off from his famous band in late December to host the fourth edition of the special series of holiday concerts called “The Jungle Show.” The events will take place December 27 and December 28 at the famous Austin, Texas, club Antone’s.
As usual, Gibbons will be joined by ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds guitarist Jimmie Vaughan, Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton, Canadian blues guitarist Sue Foley and Hammond organ player Mike Flanigin, who’s a member of Billy’s solo band.
Tickets for the concerts go on sale to the general public this Tuesday, October 15, at 10 a.m. CT at AntonesNightclub.com.
“We’ve come to think of this Jungle Show thing as something of a destination musical event,” Gibbons says in a statement. “Certainly, Jimmie, Mike, Sue, Chris and I all set our sights on Austin as the year winds down and that’s where the vapors coalesce, so to speak. The Jungle Show audience, coming from around the corner and across the globe, zeros in on Antone’s and keeps the excitement at an intense level.”
The idea for the shows came together after Gibbons and Flanigan were asked to perform at the induction of B.B. King into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2016. The two musicians were having a hard time deciding on a song to play at the event, and Gibbons eventually suggested doing one of King’s fairly obscure early tunes, “The Jungle.” Layton, Foley and Vaughan then were tapped to take part in the performance, which eventually led to the collective organizing the holiday shows.
ZZ Top’s 50th anniversary tour continues Friday in Cherokee, North Carolina. Here are all of the band’s upcoming dates:
10/11 — Cherokee, NC, Harrah’s Cherokee — Event Center
10/12 — Manchester, TN, Exit 111 Festival – Great Stage Park*+
10/13 — Alpharetta, GA, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre*
10/15 — Augusta, GA, The James Brown Arena*
10/16 — St. Augustine, FL, St. Augustine Amphitheatre*
10/18 — Estero FL, Hertz Arena*
10/19 — Tampa, FL, MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre*
10/20 — West Palm Beach, FL, Coral Sky Amphitheatre*
10/22 — Melbourne, FL, Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts**
10/23 — Tallahassee, FL, Donald L. Tucker Civic Center**
10/25 — Oxon Hill, MD, MGM National Harbor**
10/26 — Bethlehem, PA, The Wind Creek Event Center**
10/27 — Manshantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino**
10/29 — Erie, PA, Warner Theatre**
10/30 — Kalamazoo, MI, Wings Event Center**
11/1 — Madison, WI, The Sylvee***
11/2 — Waukegan, IL, Genesee Theatre***
11/3 — Peoria, IL, Peoria Civic Theater***
11/5 — Springfield, MO, Juanita K. Hammons Hall***
11/6 — Enid, OK, Stride Bank Center***
11/8 — Tulsa, OK, Paradise Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort***
11/9 — Shreveport, LA, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium***
12/31 — Durant, OK, Choctaw Grand Theatre
+ = festival performance.
* = with Cheap Trick.
** = with Ghost Hounds
*** = with Marquise Knox.
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