Article Contributed by Mike
Published on November 4, 2025
Billy F Gibbons, founder and front man of ZZ Top for more than six decades, has set a string of new tour dates in the first quarter of 2026 for his ongoing solo project Billy F Gibbons and the BFG Band. With Billy on guitar and vocals, the group also includes fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Chris “Whipper” Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble) on drums and Austin legend Mike “The Drifter” Flanigin on Hammond organ, bass and backing vocals. The tour, the third such in-person solo endeavor by Gibbons, kicks off January 20 at the Uptown Theatre in Napa, California followed by a string of California dates with appearances thereafter in Phoenix, Santa Fe and Denver. An especially significant tour stop is set for January 31 at the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the site of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper’s final performance just about 67 years earlier. February dates will see Billy and the BFGs in the Midwest, New England, New York and the middle Atlantic region, with the tour concluding February 28 at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse, for a total of 28 dates over the course of six weeks.
Gibbons commented, “I’m joined with Whipper and The Drifter, in our collective Texas collective blues tradition. There’s a bond that speaks volumes about our sonic skew,” adding “one might hear a surf tune or some other detour of loudness as what we do is looser than our collective background might suggest. We predict good times as we always say, “Ya’ can’t lose with the blues.”
Over the course of the past ten years, Billy Gibbons has released three albums on his own, including the Afro-Cuban flavored Perfectamundo, the self-explanatory follow up titled The Big Bad Blues and most recently Hardware. When not on the road, Gibbons has been recording a fourth as-yet-untitled album for Concord Records, to be released early this coming year. A new track titled “Brown Paper Bag,” is expected to be released concurrent with kickoff of the new tour. Another track from Billy Gibbons, “Livin’ It Up Down In Texas,” was released earlier and is the centerpiece of the recently issued MCA Nashville album Landman [Songs From and Inspired by the Paramount+ Original Series (Volume 1)].
Chris “Whipper” Layton has long been close to Billy Gibbons and part of The Jungle Show, a confluence of great players who for many years have performed at Antone’s in Austin between Christmas and New Year. Following the tragic death of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Layton joined forces with his former Double Trouble bandmate Tommy Shannon, along with Doyle Bramhall II and Charlies Sexton to form Arc Angels. In recent years he’s been the primary drummer on the Experience Hendrix Tour, backing topflight players ranging from Taj Mahal and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, to Eric Johnson and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Mike ‘The Drifter’ Flanigin is a shining light of the Texas blues scene and a master of the Hammond B3 organ, known for his collaborations with Gibbons on The Jungle Show as well as with Jimmie Vaughan. He’s recorded several well received solo albums and joined forces with ZZ Top at the Montreux Jazz Festival. A musical jack of all trades, he most recently recorded a bluegrass single in Nashville of his composition “When My Baby Plays The Cannonball” with bluegrass greats Rob and Ronnie McCoury.
Billy F Gibbons and the BFG Band Tour ‘26
January
20 – Napa, CA – Uptown Theatre
21 – Monterey, CA – Golden State Theatre
23 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
24 – Santa Barbara, CA – Lobero Theatre
25 – Anaheim, CA – Grove of Anaheim
28 – Santa Fe, NM – Lensic Performing Arts Center
29 – Denver, CO – Paramount Theatre
31 – Clear Lake, IA – Surf Ballroom
February
01 – St. Charles, IL – The Arcada Theatre
03 – Columbus, OH – Southern Theatre
04 – Niagara Falls, ON – Fallsview Casino Resort
06 – Wilmington, DE – Grand Opera House
07 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa
10 – Derry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
11 – Plymouth, MA – Plymouth Memorial Hall
13 – Rutland, VT – Paramount Theatre
14 – Patchogue, NY – Patchouge Theatre
16 – New York, NY – City Winery New York
17 – New York, NY – City Winery New York
19 – Wilkes Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
20 – Mashantucket, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino
21 – Tarrytown, NY – Tarrytown Music Hall
23 – Alexandria, VA -The Birchmere
24 – Frederick, MD – Weinberg Center for the Arts
26 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center
27 – Bristol, TN – Paramount Bristol
28 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
