You'd recognise the riff from "Gimme All Your Lovin'" even if you'd never heard the band's name. And here's a fact that catches most people off guard: of the three guys you picture when someone says ZZ TOP Pardubice, the one whose surname literally means "Beard" is the only one who never actually grew a long beard. The irony is that the only member of ZZ Top without a long beard is drummer Frank Beard, who remained clean-shaven for most of his career, while the beards of Gibbons and Hill became the band's trademark. The ZZ TOP concert takes place on 6 July 2026 at enteria arena, and it is a rare opportunity to see one of the longest-running rock line-ups in history perform live.

ZZ TOP Pardubice 2026: when, where and what we know for certain

TL;DR: ZZ TOP Pardubice plays on 6 July 2026 at enteria arena, tickets are available through Ticketmaster. Everything else in this article is context so you know who you're going to hear.

Let's start with the essentials from our database. The ZZ TOP concert takes place on Monday 6 July 2026 at enteria arena in Pardubice, and tickets are sold through the official Ticketmaster system. Those are the only fixed facts about the event. I'm not making up the date, venue or ticket seller anywhere in this article, so if you come across a different date elsewhere, go by the official source.

And who will you actually hear? ZZ Top is an American rock band founded in Houston, Texas in 1969. The line-up held together for over five decades with vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard and bassist and vocalist Dusty Hill, until Hill stepped away in 2021 and subsequently passed away. That kind of continuity barely exists in rock. You can find out more about the band on their ZZ TOP artist profile in our database.

From Moving Sidewalks to "that little ol' band from Texas"

TL;DR: Before ZZ Top existed, Gibbons played in the psychedelic band Moving Sidewalks and opened for Jimi Hendrix. After a few line-up changes, the trio settled into place and stayed together for over half a century.

Billy Gibbons was gaining experience long before ZZ Top. In Houston in 1966 he founded the band Moving Sidewalks, whose single "99th Floor" became a local hit, and they opened for The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and the 13th Floor Elevators. Hendrix reportedly even showed the young Gibbons a few things on the guitar. When Moving Sidewalks broke up, Gibbons was looking for a more straightforward boogie-blues-rock direction.

The first ZZ Top line-up was not yet the famous one. Shortly after recording the single "Salt Lick", bassist Billy Ethridge and drummer Dan Mitchell were replaced by Frank Beard from the band American Blues, and when Ethridge left, his spot was taken by Beard's American Blues bandmate Dusty Hill. That completed the trio. Gibbons, Hill and Beard met in the summer of 1969, when they were all twenty, at a Houston club called The Catacombs, where Gibbons and Beard were auditioning bassists; Dusty reportedly just walked in, strapped on his instrument and they played one song straight for three hours.

The band's name has a surprisingly simple origin. It was Gibbons's idea. In the small apartment where they used to gather, the walls were covered in concert posters and he noticed that a lot of artists used initials. He was particularly struck by B. B. King and Z. Z. Hill, and wanted to combine them into "ZZ King", but that felt too close to the original. Then it occurred to him that "king is at the top", and he had the name "ZZ Top". Gibbons himself still offers a few alternative stories, so you can never be entirely sure of the exact truth with him.

Then came the breakthrough. Commercial success arrived with the 1973 album "Tres Hombres", which reached the top ten of the Billboard 200 and contained "La Grange", one of the band's most famous recordings. That raspy, storytelling song has a mischievous backstory. "La Grange" was a tribute to a notorious brothel near the Texas town of the same name. That's ZZ Top's humour: double meaning and a wink hidden inside a boogie rhythm.

The beards nobody planned

TL;DR: The beards didn't come about as a marketing move but by accident during a two-and-a-half-year break. Gibbons and Hill grew them independently of each other, and Gillette later tried in vain to offer them a million dollars each to shave them off.

The visual trademark that even someone who doesn't know a single song would recognise came about almost by chance. In 1977 the band took an extended break and manager Bill Ham negotiated a move to Warner Brothers in the meantime. The trio reunited after two and a half years to begin recording under the new deal, and without telling each other, both Hill and Gibbons had grown beards down to their chests, which quickly became part of their "outlaw" image. It was no marketing plan - Hill himself later confirmed as much.

Others could see there was something to it. In 1984 Gillette reportedly offered Gibbons and Hill a million dollars each to shave their beards for a television commercial, but both declined. And the drummer? The surname Beard is not a band joke but his real birth name; he was born in Frankston, Texas as Frank Lee Beard and inherited the surname from his father. The fact that "Mr Beard" himself stayed clean-shaven is one of those coincidences the band enjoys and never tires of explaining.

Eliminator and the MTV era

TL;DR: In the eighties the band added synthesizers and drum machines and became an unlikely MTV sensation. The 1983 album Eliminator sold eleven million copies and the iconic red Ford from the videos is known the world over.

In theory, a Texas blues-boogie band had no business thriving in the MTV era. The opposite happened. Eliminator was released on 23 March 1983, shot them high up the charts and produced several hits including "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Sharp Dressed Man", "TV Dinners" and their most successful single "Legs". It is ZZ Top's commercially most successful record, with 11 million copies sold and a diamond certification in the USA. Gibbons stirred in a new sound. From the El Loco album in 1981 he had been pushing the band's boogie and blues-rock style towards the then-popular new wave, and for Eliminator he picked up the tempo and made greater use of synthesizers and drum machines.

The visuals of the videos, however, were what landed hardest. With the rise of MTV the band quickly discovered the music video phenomenon and launched themselves to new popularity with the clips for "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Legs" and "Sharp Dressed Man", in which a new calling card appeared: a cherry-red 1933 Ford Coupe nicknamed The Eliminator. The videos showcased the car and attractive women more than the band itself, and it paid off. ZZ Top won two awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in the eighties, Best Group Video for "Legs" and Best Direction for "Sharp Dressed Man" in 1984.

What's remarkable is that most classic rockers failed in the new medium at the time - ZZ Top did not. They were among the few classic rock bands to make a successful transition into the MTV era, and their cinematic videos brought them a new generation of fans in the eighties. And they managed it without abandoning their own identity. At the Pardubice concert you'll hear two sides of one band: raw Texas blues from the early records and those polished eighties hits. If you want to compare how they sound alongside other touring acts, take a look at our concerts overview.

Dusty Hill, Elwood Francis and "the show goes on"

TL;DR: Following the death of bassist Dusty Hill in 2021, the band continues in accordance with his wishes with long-time guitar tech Elwood Francis. Gibbons and Beard play on.

This part matters so you know who you'll be seeing in Pardubice. In July 2021 Dusty Hill left the tour due to a hip injury and was temporarily replaced by Elwood Francis. Five days later the band announced Hill's death at the age of 72. What followed says a great deal about the character of the band. In accordance with Hill's wishes, ZZ Top continued with Francis on bass.

Francis is no random stand-in. When Hill headed home to Texas in July 2021, at his personal request he was replaced by the band's friend and guitar tech Elwood Francis, which turned out to be one of the most successful member substitutions in rock history. One detail for completeness: there have also been some changes in the drummer's seat recently. ZZ Top continued to tour through the twenties, including joint dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd and their own "Elevation" tour, and in 2025 Frank Beard temporarily left the tour due to illness and was replaced by drum tech John Douglas.

The Hall of Fame, 50 million records and what to expect live

TL;DR: ZZ Top are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have sold around 50 million records and have always built their reputation primarily on stage. In Pardubice expect concentrated blues-rock without blockbuster-scale production.

A few numbers that place the band among the true greats. ZZ Top have released fifteen studio albums and sold an estimated 50 million records worldwide. In 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the induction speech delivered by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Gibbons at number 32 on their list of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Their reputation, however, was always built above all on stage, and built the hard way. In the early days they played around 300 nights a year, often with intense stage shows that featured Texas longhorn cattle, rattlesnakes and vultures. That live reputation is baked into their nickname too. From "that little ol' band from Texas", proudest of their unfashionableness, they became the most unlikely MTV superheroes.

What should you take away from all this heading into enteria arena? The core of what they do remains simple: they describe themselves as "three guys playing three chords". Don't expect a effects-heavy show with tonnes of pyrotechnics, but dense Texas blues-rock, dry humour between songs and a run of riffs that will still be going round your head the next day. Gibbons is also known for a small eccentricity - for years he has played guitar with a Mexican peso instead of a plectrum. If you want your programme in Pardubice covered for that July week, the ZZ TOP concert is the anchor, but there's plenty you can add around it.

Pardubice around 6 July: what else to catch

TL;DR: A packed cultural week comes together in the city around the concert, from a piano evening and an alternative showcase to a tower tour and a programme for children.

Since you're already making the trip to Pardubice for ZZ TOP, it's worth arriving a little earlier or staying an extra day. The day before the concert, on 5 July, you can climb up for a tour of the tower of St Mary Magdalene's Church. A few days earlier, on 30 June, the alternative Stoned to Death Showcase with Never Sol, Here and Bunkerer plays at Divadlo 29 - a completely different musical world, but worth mentioning. And if you have a soft spot for classical music, a Piano Evening fills the Chamber Philharmonic on 29 June.

Families with children will appreciate the Magic Show for Kids and Adults on 4 July or the Museum Day Camp programme at the castle on 1 July. You can find the full overview in our events calendar.

Frequently asked questions

When and where does ZZ TOP play in Pardubice?

The concert takes place on Monday 6 July 2026 at enteria arena in Pardubice. Tickets are sold through the official Ticketmaster system, which is also linked from our event page.

Is the original ZZ Top line-up still playing?

Not exactly. The line-up held together for over five decades with Gibbons, Beard and Hill, until Dusty Hill stepped away and passed away in 2021. In accordance with Hill's wishes, the band's long-time tech Elwood Francis took over on bass, so Billy Gibbons and Frank Beard continue on.

What songs can I expect at the concert?

The band draws on their best-known material. Among the most popular songs are "La Grange", "Legs", "I Gotsta Get Paid", "Gimme All Your Lovin'", "Jesus Just Left Chicago", "Got Me Under Pressure" and "Sharp Dressed Man". The exact set list does vary from show to show, though.

Why is the band called ZZ Top?

Billy Gibbons came up with the name as a wordplay. He combined the initials of bluesmen B. B. King and Z. Z. Hill, and from the thought that "the king is at the top", arrived at "ZZ Top".

Where are ZZ Top from and how long have they been playing?

They are American; the band was formed in Houston, Texas in 1969. Texas blues is written into every riff they play and they are one of the longest-running rock acts with a consistent line-up.

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