ZZ Top + Lynyrd Skynyrd @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, Tx

There’s no denying that Houston has been receiving lots of incredible shows and lineups lately, but Sunday night was the cherry on top of all our summer shows with Houstons very own legendary ZZ Top live at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Joining the “Sharp Dressed Simple Man” Tour, the iconic lineup was rock and roll gurus Lynyrd Skynyrd and Country Rap mastermind Uncle Kracker. As someone who has listened to all three of these bands since I could remember, I was absolutely thrilled to be able to be a part of the festivities of that afternoon. The heat was at an all time high, and it was miserably exhausting to be outside for even five minutes let alone five hours… but Houston and surrounding fans gathered within the pavilion, waters and beers in hand, and ready to jam out to some classical tunes. 

First to the stage was American Country singer and rapper Uncle Kracker. Known for his early 2000’s top hits “Follow Me” and “Drift Away” Uncle Kracker was smiling from ear to ear as he waved to the crowd as they were welcoming him to Houston. Jumping into first songs “Nobody’s Sad On A Saturday Night” and Kid Rock cover “All Summer Long” The energy was building up within the crowd and all of the musicians alongside Uncle Kracker and I knew it was bound to get even better. After all these years, hearing him sing again brought back so many memories from when I was a kid, and he continues to sound just as on-point as he did back in those old days. Uncle Kracker, in my opinion, is literally the definition of “feel good music”, you can’t help but smile and nod your head back and forth to his music. Finishing his eight song setlist to everyone’s favorite throwback “Drift Away”, Uncle Kracker had all the fans in the crowd singing alongside him and it was the perfect way to get everyone excited for the rest of the afternoon. 

Next up was Jacksonville, Florida’s Iconic Lynyrd Skynyrd. Emotions were high and curiosity filled the air as this was the first Houston show played without Gary Rossington, who was the last surviving original member of Skynyrd who sadly passed back in March. So, it was safe to say, many fans were in their feels once the huge lit up screen on stage started rolling their 50th anniversary video while ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” played in the background. With memory clips and photos of Skynyrds past, attendees were teary eyed and hugging each other as the video kept on. A few minutes passed and “Workin For MCA” was now blasting through the speakers as the current members of Skynyrd joined the stage. Everyone was screaming by this point, excited to simply put all their worries aside and have a great night of great music of legendary classics. It still blows my mind that Vocalist Johnny Van Zant (Brother of original vocalist – Ronnie Van Zant) is able to sound exactly like his brother and is able to hit all of those notes and nail every pitch… I mean I know these guys are brothers but holy cow. Its insane. Continuing with all of the Skynyrd hits we know and love, including “Whats Your Name”, “That Smell”, and Saturday Night Special”, everyone was up and out of their seat and singing (more like screaming) along with the band and it was truly one of the best things i’ve ever seen. “Tuesday’s Gone” came on next and was respectfully dedicated as tribute to the late Gary Rossington, it was now back to tears and emotions as everyone was raising their lighters and swaying back and forth in sync to the song. All in all, Skynryd’s hour set was filled with a wide range of emotions, from laughter, to excitement, to grief… all while keeping every single tune and melody in tack. The musical shredding tightness they continue to have is just simply incredible, there is no denying that they are all insanely talented musicians. Finishing with the obvious encore “Free Bird” and again living up to the standard of one of the most brilliant and powerful songs in the world, Lynyrd Skynyrd put on one hell of a show, and ended their set with the memory to last a lifetime.

As the evening started to get a few degrees cooler, it was now time for the moment we were all waiting for… to finally rock out to Houston legends ZZ Top. As the stage went dark, Augie Meyers cover song “Hey Baby, Que Paso ” filled the ear holes of every individual throughout the pavilion and as the stage went green out came the trio leading straight into “Got Me Under Pressure”. Automatically, the first thing I noticed was newest joined basist Elwood Francis and his massive.. And I mean MASSIVE bass guitar in his hand. This Blinding yellow bass with a whopping 17 strings was something I have never seen before in my life. I was honestly mesmerized by it. Original members Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard both looked just as dapper as they always do, both in the traditional ZZ Top fashion. Playing a seventeen song set, they were able to cover a vast majority of their greatest hit songs from several different albums including “Gimme All Your Lovin”, “Im Bad, Im Nationwide”,  and of course “Sharp Dressed Man”. Everyone who knows ZZ Top, knows what kind of performance they are going to give you. It’s just obvious. You’ll know you will experience a heck of a show of pure rock and roll with clapping, screaming, drinking, and everything in between. That is 100% exactly what I witnessed that night as they played their set, too. These three guys sound just as incredible as they do on record if not better. Finishing the night with “La Grange ” which is undoubtedly everyone’s ZZ Top classic favorite, and the song they have been ending their sets with for as long as i can remember… They proved yet again that they are the best musicians in the game and they definitely are not stopping anytime soon. 

ZZ TOP

LYNYRD SKYNYRD

UNCLE KRACKER

Photos + Review by Krystie Archer | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!