Billy Gibbons Announces Early 2026 Dates With Chris Layton And Mike Flanigin

Billy F Gibbons, founder and front man of ZZ Top for more than six decades, announced 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 Gibbons on guitar and vocals, the group 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.

Gibbons commented in a release, “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. 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.’” 

The tour, the third in-person solo endeavor by Gibbons, kicks off Jan. 20 at the Uptown Theatre in Napa, California, followed by a string of west coast dates with appearances thereafter in Santa Fe and Denver.

With a total of 28 dates over six weeks, an especially poignant stop is set for Jan. 31 at the legendary Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, the site of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson’s final performance before they died in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959. In February, the group visits the Midwest, New England, New York and the mid-Atlantic region, with the tour concluding Feb. 28 at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse.

Over the course of the past 10 years, 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. Gibbons has been recording a fourth as-yet-untitled album for Concord Records, which will be released early in 2026. A new track, “Brown Paper Bag,” is expected to be released concurrent with kickoff of the new tour.

Following the 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. 

Flanigin, a stalwart of the Texas blues scene and a master of the Hammond B3 organ, has 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” Dates:

Jan. 20 – Napa, CA, Uptown Theatre

Jan. 21 – Monterey, CA, Golden State Theatre

Jan. 23 – Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up Tavern

Jan. 24 – Santa Barbara, CA, Lobero Theatre

Jan. 25 – Anaheim, CA, Grove of Anaheim

Jan. 28 – Santa Fe, NM, Lensic Performing Arts Center

Jan. 29 – Denver, CO, Paramount Theatre

Jan. 31 – Clear Lake, IA, Surf Ballroom

Feb. 1 – St. Charles, IL, The Arcada Theatre

Feb. 3 – Columbus, OH, Southern Theatre

Feb. 4 – Niagara Falls, ON, Fallsview Casino Resort

Feb. 6 – Wilmington, DE, Grand Opera House

Feb. 7 – Atlantic City, NJ, Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Feb. 10 – Derry, NH, Tupelo Music Hall

Feb. 11 – Plymouth, MA, Plymouth Memorial Hall

Feb. 13 – Rutland, VT, Paramount Theatre

Feb. 14 – Patchogue, NY, Patchouge Theatre

Feb. 16 – New York, NY, City Winery New York

Feb. 17 – New York, NY, City Winery New York

Feb. 19 – Wilkes Barre, PA, F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts

Feb. 20 – Mashantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino

Feb. 21 – Tarrytown, NY, Tarrytown Music Hall

Feb. 23 – Alexandria, VA, The Birchmere

Feb. 24 – Frederick, MD, Weinberg Center for the Arts

Feb. 26 – Rocky Mount, VA, Harvester Performance Center

Feb. 27 – Bristol, TN, Paramount Bristol

Feb. 28 – Atlanta, GA, Variety Playhouse