Texas Two-Step: ZZ Top, Gary Clark, Jr., Making Casinos Swing

^{Elwood Francis (left) had big shoes to fill when stepping in to take over for ZZ Top founding bassist Dusty Hill. The band is hitting the casino circuit starting in November. (Image: Christoph Speidel / Imago / Alamy)}

2025 is already shaping up to be an exciting time to head to the casinos. Not only will you find some excellent gaming action, but you will also find a legendary trio and a scintillating new bluesman taking to the stage. The worst part of it? We must wait several months until the actual shows take place!

ZZ Top Still Rockin’ After All These Years

After more than 50 years on the road, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers ZZ Top are still rockin’ after all these years! In October, that “Lil’ Ol’ Band from Texas” will kick off their Elevation Tour at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson, AZ and, in November, will hit the first of their casino stops. Scottsdale will be the place to be at the Talking Stick Resort on November 3 as the Texas trio bring their boogie-blues sound to their fans. 

On Nov. 15 and 16, two more casinos will host the Top. Both are Hard Rock Casinos, one in Gary, IN (November 15) and the other in Rockford, IL (Nov.16), before the rockers pay homage to the stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Nov. 18. After that, ZZ Top will break for the holidays, but 2025 will bring them back to the casino stage at the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa on March 12; tickets for the Tampa show start at $120 and will go on sale on Oct. 25 through Ticketmaster and the Seminole Hard Rock Tampa website. 

The original ZZ Top – guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill, and drummer Frank Beard – started their journey together back in 1969, releasing their first album as a band in 1971. Since then, the band has sold more than fifty million albums and became known for their quirky music videos during the MTV Era. In honor of their work, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducted the group in 2004.

Although Hill would pass away in 2021, the Top would keep the party going. Stepping into the late bassist’s shoes was his tech, Elwood Francis, who assumed the mantle after Hill told Gibbons to “give Elwood the bottom end and take it to the Top.” ZZ Top has not lost anything off their game with Francis on the bass, continuing as a rock and roll powerhouse more than fifty years after their start. 

Blues Clues: Guitar Wizardry from Gary Clark, Jr.

One of the hottest blues guitarists in the game today, Gary Clark, Jr., is wrapping up the European leg of his tour right now, opening for St. Vincent. Come 2025, however, he will be stepping into the limelight as the headliner for his own tour, with several casino stops on the agenda. 

Gary Clark, Jr., is swinging through Nevada before heading to Florida for a stretch of shows. (Image: Carlo Vergani / Pacific Press / ZUMA)

The U.S. leg of Clark’s tour will start on Feb. 19 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada, before heading  to Las Vegas. On Feb. 20, the Linq’s Brooklyn Bowl will serve as the venue for Clark and his entourage, with Clark also taking a trip to the Mother Church, the Ryman Auditorium, on March 7. That is all a warmup, however, for the three-date swing through Florida for the four-time Grammy winner.

March 13 is the start date for a trio of shows for Clark in the Sunshine State. First up is a visit to the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center in Tampa, with a trip across the state to Hard Rock Live in Orlando to perform on March 14. The final date of the Southern Swing for Clark will be the Hard Rock Live venue at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. Tickets are on sale NOW for the Tampa stop on the schedule, starting at $100, and available through Ticketmaster and the Seminole Hard Rock website.

Gary Clark, Jr., an Austin, Texas, native, battled through the proving grounds of the Live Music Capital of the World to become one of the consummate bluesmen in the game today. His debut album Black and Blu was a Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 in 2012 and Clark has gone on to release six total albums including his most recent, JPEG Raw, while winning those four Grammys. Along the way, he has also garnered the admiration of such blues legends as the late B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughan, and the Rolling Stones.