Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant has revealed that the band is planning to release a live album and concert video capturing founding guitarist Gary Rossington’s final performance with the group. Rossington, who died of heart disease in March 2023 at age 71, played with Lynyrd Skynyrd for the final time in November 2022 in Nashville.
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Van Zant shared the news during a recent interview with SiriusXM radio host Mark Strigl. The chat also featured Johnny’s older brother Donnie, and partly focused on the sibling duo’s upcoming gospel/rock album, Always Look Up.
“Gary’s last show was recorded at the Ryman Auditorium there in Nashville,” Johnny noted during the interview. “And, man, we’re putting that out on CD, vinyl, and DVD, I’m sure, probably at the beginning of [2025].”
Rossington joined Lynyrd Skynyrd for most of the show at the Ryman, which also featured guest appearances by Jelly Roll, Marcus King, John Osborne, Brent Smith, and Donne Van Zant. A film documenting the event, titled The 50th Anniversary of Lynyrd Skynyrd, was shown in select theaters in July 2023.
Johnny Also Revealed Some Other Skynyrd News
Johnny also revealed that he recently had a meeting to discuss a Lynyrd Skynyrd movie, although he didn’t go into specifics about the project.
The singer also talked some more about a previously discussed plan to eventually complete songs Rossington had started working on for a new Lynyrd Skynyrd studio album.
“Yes, there is a lot of songs that myself, [Skynyrd guitarist] Rickey [Medlocke] and Gary wrote that, unfortunately, we never got to record,” he noted. “And we’ve been going back and looking for all of ’em. Gary was a master of holding on to little cassettes. No matter what, even though he [had] a voicemail on his phone, he’d bring in a cassette player. The one and only guy who had one.”
Johnny continued, “So, his wife and daughters gave us a box of stuff that he kept. And so, we’ve been going through it. [We] haven’t gotten through the whole thing. But maybe sometime in the future, my thought was to get all these artists that loved him and love Skynyrd and invite ’em in and do a whole bash to him. And who knows? Maybe we’ll write some new stuff.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most recent studio album, Last of a Dyin’ Breed, was released in 2012. The last new music from the band was the 2020 single “Last of the Street Survivors.”
About Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Upcoming Concert Plans
Lynyrd Skynyrd is headlining a benefit concert on November 15 at the Bradenton Area Convention Center in Palmetto, Florida. The show will aid hospitality workers on Florida’s Gulf Coast affected by the devastating hurricanes that recently hit the area.
The band also has three concerts confirmed for 2025. The shows are scheduled for March 5 at the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida; April 6 at the Two Step Inn fest in Georgetown, Texas; and June 21 at the Summer Jam event in Little Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Tickets for Lynyrd Skynyrd’s concerts are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.
About the Always Look Up Album
Johnny and Donnie Van Zant have frequently collaborated together over the years under the moniker Van Zant. The duo’s upcoming album Always Look Up, will be released on November 22. The 11-track collection, which is the duo’s first-ever gospel album, mixes spiritual themes with Southern-rock sounds.
Donnie was a founding member of 38 Special, although he retired from that band in 2014.
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