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Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top plays Beaver Creek Tuesday

With his signature beard and African headgear, Billy F Gibbons is instantly recognizable and best known as the centerpiece of ZZ Top.
Courtesy photo

The “Sharp Dressed Man” of 1983, Billy F. Gibbons, will still don his signature beard when he performs with Mike Flanigin and Chris Layton Tuesday at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.

Though influences from his ZZ Top days are deeply engrained, his latest band offers him “the chance to explore some sonic territory that might be a tad out of character for ZZ so in a sense, it’s creatively liberating,” he said, adding that after playing with ZZ top for more than five decades, “it’s who we are.”

“We must confess: At the root of all is the art form of blues,” he said. “That’s the fundament for just about everything we do.” 



While ZZ Top had the longest standing, unchanged lineup in history, he’s known Layton and Flanigin for decades. His relationship with Layton dates back to Layton’s days with Stevie Ray Vaughan, as part of Double Trouble.

“He’s got a great ‘let’s do it’ attitude and seems tireless,” Gibbons said. “He and I have Jimmie Vaughan in common, so it’s been fun to get together with them over the years. Same goes for Mike ‘The Drifter’ Flanigin. He’s become something of a global institution holding forth first behind his Fender Stratocaster, followed by his handling of the Fender bass-guitar, and most magically now at the Hammond B3. Both he and Whipper have been part of our holiday Jungle Show in Texas between Christmas and New Year’s, so it’s a very natural circumstance — they’re both master musicians and easy-going, compatible cats.” 

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His solo albums, “the Afro-Cuban flavored ‘Perfectamundo,’ (2015) the bluesy, ‘The Big Bad Blues’ (2018) and the hard rockin ‘Hardware,’ (2021) all represent what he refers to as the Three T’s: Tone, Taste and Tenacity,” according to press materials.

“We started with that Afro-Cuban ‘thang,’ which was pretty far removed from what ZZ Top had done, and that evolved into a more roots-rock approach and, of course, straight-ahead blues,” he said.

He’s currently working on a new release, which he calls “a potpourri.” He wrote the title track, “Livin’ It Up Down In Texas,” with “Landman” stars Billy Bob Thornton and Mark Collie for one of the episodes of the new Paramount+ series. Its release coincides with Gibbons and his band’s tour. Thornton and Gibbons have also been friends for decades; in fact, Thornton was a member of Tres Hombres, a ZZ Top tribute band, which Gibbons called “the best little cover band in Texas.”

“It seemed really natural to team up with Billy Bob and Mark to write a song for ‘Landman,'” Gibbons said. “‘Livin’ It Up Down In Texas’ isn’t, per se, autobiographical but does encapsulate the oil-stained Lone Star lifestyle as seen each week in the series.”

Gibbons, who’s widely regarded as one of the world’s best guitarists, has a fixation with the instrument that dates back to age 13.

“Each instrument has a character and tone, so they kind of speak for themselves,” he said. “The same is pretty much true about cars. I’ve been fascinated by them and think of them as rolling sculpture. They need to be cared for and coddled — a love object if ever there was.”  

He’s also slightly obsessed with cutting-edge technology.

“Our fixation with tech dates back to our days touring with Jimi Hendrix. He made the most of the technology at hand and kind of hacked it back then before there was such a term,” he said. “There’s so much possibility that tech offers in the creative arts, and we definitely want to be part of that.” 

He describes his tour as a “mobile party,” which he doesn’t plan to end anytime soon.

“(The audience) can expect a good time — maybe as good a time as the guys up there on stage playing for them, as when we’re having good times, it’s almost guaranteed everyone can join in,” he said. “It might get loud, but I’m sure you’ll like it. The range of material is always a work in progress, so all we suggest is: Get there early, and stay late.”


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