Lynyrd Skynyrd To Bid Farewell

James P. Hendershot – Lynyrd Skynyrd
Lynyrd Skynyrd plays the M3 Rock Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., April 30.

Lynyrd Skynyrd will give fans one final chance to hear classic hits when the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band take to the road for “Last Of The Street Survivors Farewell Tour.” Joining the group on select dates will be Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., and Bad Company.

Presented by SiriusXM and produced by Live Nation, the mostly amphitheatre outing launches at Coral Sky Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Fla., May 4.  Stops include Dallas, Phoenix, Bristow, Va.; Mansfield, Mass.; Toronto and St. Louis before a glorious finish in Atlanta, Ga.

That Lynyrd Skynyrd is still touring today is one of rock’s more amazing stories.  Formed in 1964 in Jacksonville, Fla., and originally known as “My Backyard,” the band’s original member lineup was Ronnie Vant Zant, Bob Burns, Allen Collins, Gary Rossington and Larry Junstrom. The band eventually rechristened itself after a Florida high school physical education teacher named Leonard Skinner.

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 self-titled debut album included “Free Bird,” “Gimme Three Steps” and “Tuesday’s Gone.” The disc was followed one year later by the appropriately titled Second Helping LP that included “Sweet Home Alabama” as well as J.J. Cale’s “Call Me The Breeze.” 

But Lynyrd Skynyrd’s spree of hits was cut short during the band’s 1977 tour when the plane transporting the group crashed near Gillsburg, Miss., killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines along with several road crew members.  The band reformed 10 years later. Today’s Lynyrd Skynyrd includes Rossington along with Ronnie Van Zant’s younger brother Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Dale Krantz Rossington and Carol Chase.

“It’s hard to imagine, after all these years, the band that Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and myself started back in Jacksonville, would resonate for this long and to so many generations of fans,” Rossington said.  “I’m certain they are looking down from above, amazed that the music has touched so many.”

In recent years Lynyrd Skynyrd has often toured with folks ranging from Hank Williams, Jr., to Blackberry Smoke to Peter Frampton.  Box office data submitted to Pollstar during the last 10 years for headlining gigs depicts the band moving on average 6,422 tickets per show and grossing approximately $277,270 per performance.  The total gross for the past decade was just over $83.1 million.

The tour’s official credit card, Citi, will launch a presale beginning Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. and runs until Feb. 1 at 10 p.m.   General onsales start Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. All times local.  Be sure to follow Pollstar’s Lynyrd Skynyrd page for tour updates.