If you caught the Drive-by Truckers last weekend, then you know that the good people over at the nTelos Wireless Pavilion (having trouble getting used to that name) kicked off the series of warm weather shows that’ll run well into autumn. A few more big gigs were announced this week, including ones by hyperliterate Cascadian band The Decemberists, and on May 31, "That little ol’ band from Texas," ZZ Top. Tickets are on sale Friday at 10am. See the schedule here, which also has updates about shows by Wiz Khalifa and Merle Haggard.
Now is as good a time as any to drop a little did-you-know ZZ party knowledge—generally more useful than you’d think.
1. Did you know that Jimi Hendrix considered ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons to be America’s greatest guitarist? True.
2. Did you know that ZZ Top was broken up when Gibbons and bassist Dusty Hill decided to grow beards that would become the band’s signature look independent of one other? Also true.
Bonus. Did you know that drummer Frank Lee Beard is the only member of the band that does not, in fact, sport a huge beard? Definitely true.
Extra double secret ZZ Top beard trivia bonus: Did you know that the Gillette razor company once offered the members of ZZ Top $1 million to shave their beards? They declined.
That’s what I call artistic integrity.
