ZZ Top‘s longtime drummer, Frank Beard, has been facing health issues that led to the cancellation of their Hollywood Bowl concert last week, Rolling Stone has learned.
A spokesperson for the band said that members Billy Gibbons and Elwood Francis will continue the tour with drummer Michael Monahan filling in for Beard.
The update arrives just days after ZZ Top abruptly called off their show in Los Angeles. In a statement posted to the band’s social media, Gibbons said, “Insurmountable obstacles require canceling our Hollywood Bowl performance.” He added: “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 has faced health issues in the past. Last year, ZZ Top announced that the musician would be “temporarily” stepping away from the band’s tour to recover. In 2002, drum tech John Douglas subbed in for Beard when the drummer underwent an emergency appendectomy.
While not the band’s founding drummer — that title goes to Dan Mitchell, who drummed on ZZ Top’s first single “Salt Lick” — Beard has served as the band’s drummer for over 55 years, from First Album in 1971 through 2012’s La Futura.
ZZ Top’s The Big One tour currently has a slew of upcoming stops across North America in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Texas, and more. Earlier this year, the band extended its 2026 tour with nearly two dozen new dates for the summer.
“It’s true that we’ve been spending a lot of time on the road, and the more we’re out there, the better it feels,” Gibbons said in a press release announcing the new shows, per Ultimate Classic Rock. “It’s a good time for us and for the generations of fans who appreciate what we do,” he said. “We’ve been at it for quite a while — something like five decades — and it seems we’re getting good at it, so there’s no reason to slow things down. Let’s rock!”
