ZZ Top Cancel Hollywood Bowl Show as Drummer Frank Beard Faces Health Issues Again
ZZ Top abruptly cancelled their Hollywood Bowl concert in Los Angeles on 11 August 2026 after drummer Frank Beard's health issues made it impossible for him to perform, Rolling Stone reported.
A spokesperson for the band confirmed that guitarist Billy Gibbons and bassist Elwood Francis will continue the tour without Beard, with drummer Michael Monahan stepping in to fill the seat. In a statement posted to ZZ Top's social media, Gibbons told fans: "Insurmountable obstacles require canceling our Hollywood Bowl performance." He added that ZZ Top's fans are "the best in the business" and that the band is counting on everyone to bear with them for what he called a brief interruption.
The cancellation is the latest in a series of health-related disruptions for Beard, who has held the drum chair for ZZ Top for over 55 years — from the band's 1971 debut album First Album through 2012's La Futura. The previous year, ZZ Top announced that Beard would temporarily step away from the tour to recover from a health issue. He was initially replaced by John Douglas, the band's longtime drum technician — the road crew member who maintains and sets up the drum kit — who had previously substituted for Beard in 2002 when Beard underwent an emergency appendectomy. Beard later returned from medical leave and resumed playing when the band's Elevation Tour continued, Rolling Stone reported in May 2025.
The Hollywood Bowl date is part of ZZ Top's Big One tour, which earlier in 2026 was extended with nearly two dozen new summer stops. Upcoming North American dates include Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Texas and additional cities. Two Texas shows have already been rescheduled: a date at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands moved to 3 October 2026, and a show at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving was pushed to 4 October 2026, according to the band's official website.
Beard has not been ZZ Top's only drummer. The band's founding drummer was Dan Mitchell, who played on ZZ Top's first single, "Salt Lick," before Beard joined the lineup. But it is Beard whose playing has defined the band's sound for more than five decades, and his absence from the stage — even with a capable replacement behind the kit — leaves a gap that fans will notice.
For now, the tour goes on. Monahan takes over the drum stool, the Texas reschedules give Beard room to recover, and Gibbons and Francis keep the lights on for the audiences who have followed the band since the days when beards and blues riffs were their whole brand.
