Lynyrd Skynyrd is one of the many acts set to perform on CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash special this Sunday (December 31). In a recent interview with Fox 17 in Nashville, Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke revealed details about one of the exciting highlights his band has planned for the show.
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“I’m really looking forward to it, because we got quite a few friends that [are] there,” Medlocke explained on the Fox 17 Rock & Review program. “[F]rom what I understand, Lainey Wilson is gonna join us and Elle King is gonna join us on ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ So, we’ll see what happens.”
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Nashville’s Big Bash airs live from Music City on CBS and Paramount+ on New Year’s Eve, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. King will co-host the show and is part of the performance lineup, along with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Wilson, Thomas Rhett, and many more.
On Continuing After Gary Rossington’s Death
Also during his interview, Medlocke reflected on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s decision to continue after the passing of Gary Rossington, the group’s last surviving original member, this past March.
“The outcry of the fans [was] such that they said, ‘Please don’t let this be the end of it,’” Medlocke noted. “And so [frontman Johnny Van Zant and I] decided, along with the former band members’ estates and relatives, that we were gonna go back out and take the great music to the fans.”
“Because, honestly, the songs [are] what makes it all happen for Lynyrd Skynyrd,” he continued. ” … Those are such iconic and great songs, and I feel very honored and very proud that I’ve been able to be there and play those songs all this time.”
[RELATED: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Rickey Medlocke is “Excited” for 2024 Tour with ZZ Top]
Medlocke initially played drums with Lynyrd Skynyrd early in the band’s career, and rejoined the group as a guitarist in 1996 after being invited by Rossington.
“God bless Gary for getting me back into this,” he told Rock & Review. “[A]nd I promised him that I would stay in this band till the final note in ‘Free Bird’ was struck. And here I am, I’m still here.”
Reflecting on Rossington’s passing, Medlocke said, [T]hat really broke my heart. And … still, right now, after all this time, I don’t think I’ve quite settled with it, because we were such really good friends ever since we were teenagers. And being on stage with him every night when we were touring [is] just something you’ll miss the rest of your life.”
Rossington died on March 5 at age 71 after years of heart issues.
2024 Tour with ZZ Top
Medlocke also noted that the New Year’s Eve performance will mark the start of “a great year,” which will see the continuation of Skynyrd’s Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour with ZZ Top.
“[W]e’re out again starting the very beginning of March all the way through March and all the way through April,” Medlocke said. “Then we take a break and we go right back out the middle of summer, all the way into October.”
You can check out a full list of tour dates at LynyrdSkynyrd.com.
Tickets are on sale now for all dates of Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top’s The Sharp Dressed Simple Man Tour via various outlets, including StubHub. At StubHub, orders are 100% guaranteed through the site’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.
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