Elton John isn't the only music legend bidding adieu to touring life.
Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd on Thursday announced its final "Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour," beginning May 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla.
"It's hard to imagine, after all these years, the band that Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and myself started back in Jacksonville, would resonate for this long and to so many generations of fans. I'm certain they are looking down from above, amazed that the music has touched so many," original member Gary Rossington said in a press release Thursday.
Skynyrd will be joined on the road by various guest artists throughout the tour, including Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Charlie Daniels Band, Bad Company, Marshall Tucker Band, 38 Special, Blackberry Smoke and Blackfoot.
The band formed in 1964 with original members Van Zant, Collins, Rossington, Bob Burns and Larry Junstrom under the name My Backyard, before landing on their iconic current name in the early 1970s.
With more than 60 albums released, Skynyrd has a history marked by tragedy, most notably a 1977 plane crash that took the lives of Van Zant, backup singer Cassie Gaines, her younger brother and band member Steve Gaines, among others.
The band's current lineup includes Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Mark "Sparky" Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Dale Krantz-Rossington and Carol Chase.
"We've been blessed by these great songs and the messages they carry to the fans. It's been a true honor to try and fill in my brother's footsteps for the past 31 years, keeping the music and his spirit, alive," Johnny Van Zant said in Thursday's statement.
Tickets go on sale Feb. 2 via LiveNation.com.
