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ZZ Top celebrates 50 years with a five-show Venetian run

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The mini-residency begins Friday, April 20.
Photo: Ross Halfin / Courtesy

Dusty Hill is pretty sure Las Vegas and ZZ Top are gonna get along just fine. “I’m a fan of Las Vegas and always have been, on many levels,” says the bassist of the legendary Texas blues-rock trio, set to begin its first series of shows on the Strip April 20 at the Venetian. “Vegas to me is a place like Hollywood or New York where you can walk around and people recognize you, but it’s like, hey, that’s cool, and then we go on with our lives. You’re not just there to see me onstage; you’re there to play and have fun.”

Hill, guitarist Billy Gibbons and drummer Frank Beard will celebrate 50 years together as ZZ Top next year, a streak of longevity that will result in a whole lot of music and touring in 2019. This Vegas run is something of a warm-up, but it might lead to a more permanent installation for a beloved band known to cover Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock.” ZZ Top also shot a great video for “Viva Las Vegas” on Fremont Street before it became the Fremont Street Experience.

“We’ve been wanting to try this for a while, even before it became the thing to do,” Hill says of the current mini-residency trend. “To have more than one day in any town is different for us. We’re nonstop. I don’t know if I want to change my name to Celine, but we wouldn’t just do this without an eye toward the future. We’ll see how it goes.”

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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