ZZ Top cancels shows until weekend after drummer Frank Beard dies aged 77

| Senior Film & Entertainment Reporter Published August 18, 2026 9:28pm Updated August 18, 2026 9:33pm Drummer and ZZ Top co-founder Frank Beard has died (Picture: Winslow Townson/Invision/AP) ZZ Top founding member and drummer for over 50 years, Frank Beard, has died aged 77. The veteran rocker died on Monday surrounded by his family at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, while in hospice care, the band’s representative, Bob Merlis, has confirmed. An exact cause of death has not been given, but he had been forced to pull out of ZZ Top’s current tour in March due to an unspecified ‘health issue’. As a result of the news, ZZ Top have cancelled a scheduled performance on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City and Wednesday’s show in Colorado Springs. The tour will then resume this weekend in Austin, the group announced. Earlier this month, the Sharp Dressed Man band also pulled out of a gig at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl at short notice, citing ‘insurmountable obstacles’, which were later revealed to be connected with Beard’s health. Paying tribute to him on Instagram on the band’s official account, Billy F Gibbons wrote: ‘Today, Elwood and I lost a great friend and collaborator, and the world lost one of the most naturally innovative drummers and a great and true son of Texas. His signature backbeat was key to keeping ZZ on top.’ Alongside a smiling photo of Beard wearing sunglasses, and a picture of him behind the drums at a concert, the post’s caption continued: ‘Following Frank’s passing, ZZ Top has cancelled its upcoming shows in Salt Lake City and Colorado Springs. ‘The band will resume its current The Big One! Tour this weekend with two dates in at Austin City Limits, one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him.’ More to follow. Arrow MORE: Emma Thompson’s actress mum Phyllida Law dies aged 94 Arrow MORE: Hayden Panettiere ‘never stopped choosing her daughter’ after giving up custody Arrow MORE: Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend Brian Hickerson dealt legal blow days before her death