Via ultimateclassirock.com 

ZZ Top have announced a six-date residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas starting April 20. The Viva Las Vegas run of shows comes after the band was forced to cancel part of its previous tour after bassist Dusty Hill contracted a stomach ailment.

The band recently speculated on how it will mark its 50th anniversary, which takes place in 2019, and seems set to cement its position as the only big-name rock act to feature the original lineup since formation.

“We’ve spent some time in the studio of late, off the touring trail,” guitarist Billy Gibbons said last year. “We’re cooking up another new sonic experiment with a bluesy background. Whether these are released as an album or come out single remains to be seen. Whatever it is, we’re looking forward to it.”

In another interview, he added that, when it came to an “appropriate answer” to the anniversary question, “[p]laying louder is what we’ve come up with.”

Asked in 2014 about the secret to the band’s longevity, Hill said “it’s a cliche and sounds so simplistic, but it’s down to the three of us genuinely enjoying playing together. We still love it, and we still get a kick out of being onstage. We also have enough in common to maintain a bond between us but sufficient differences to keep our individuality. And after all this time, we all know what winds up the others and what makes them the people they are.”

ZZ Top’s Las Vegas shows take place on April 20, 21, 22, 25, 27 and 28. Tickets go on sale at 10AM PT on Jan. 26.

Filed under: Las Vegas, zz-top