The release from Eagle Rock Entertainment was launched with huge fanfare in the band's Houston home base late last month with a massive launch part at The Hard Rock Houston followed by a ZZ Top Day ceremony at City Hall. Houston Mayor Bill White hosted the band there for a news conference and slyly declared, "ZZ Top can't stop rockin', that's a big part of why Houston is so proud to call these sharp dressed men its very own."

Not resting on their laurels after almost 40 years of performing and recording, the band immediately departed for Europe where they are now in the midst of a three week whirlwind tour that includes an even dozen festival and concert performances in seven countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and Monaco. A number of the venues hosting the band have audience capacities in excess of 40,000.

A scant ten days after the completion of the European tour, the band embarks on a six-week North American tour co-billed with Brooks & Dunn. ZZ Top has a long-standing relationship with the country music superstars having shared a CMT Crossroads TV special with the duo who had recorded the band's "Rough Boy" for the 2002 all star country ZZ Top tribute album Sharp Dressed Men.

The current ZZ Top renaissance is the result of a concerted effort by the band's management, headed by Carl Stubner CEO of Sanctuary Artist Management, to encourage new strategies on behalf of the veteran band who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Keith Richards in 2004.
In May of this year, ZZ Top were joined by American Idol winner David Cook on the top-rated show's finale for a rousing version of the band's classic "Sharp Dressed Man." The song is the centerpiece of the group's RIAA Platinum-certified (over 10 million sold) album Eliminator which has been renewed with additional tracks and video components and will be reissued in a special 25th Anniversary Collectors Edition by Warner Bros. through Rhino Entertainment next month.

Last week, Billboard reported that ZZ Top's next album will be produced by Rick Rubin for his American Recordings label through Columbia Records. The band expects to go into the studio later this year after yet another round of touring this fall. The late fall tour will be formatted to recall the band's "LaGrange"-era roots insofar as a more stripped-down approach will be taken in anticipation of the American sessions.

ZZ Top tour dates with Brooks & Dunn
*except as noted

Aug. 1 Albuquerque, NM - Journal Pavilion
2 Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
3 Devore, CA - Hyundai Pavilion
5 Nampa, ID - Idaho Center
7 Sturgis, SD - Buffalo Chip Campground*
8 Vancouver, BC - General Motors Place
6 Auburn, WA - White River Amphitheatre
14 Louisville, KY - Freedom Hall
15 Springfield, IL - Illinois State Fair*
16 Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center*
17 Oklahoma City, OK - Ford Center*
23 Clarkston, MI - DTE Energy Music Theatre
24 Toronto, ON - Molson Amphitheatre*
25 Syracuse, NY - New York State Fair
26 Allentown, PA - The Great Allentown Fair
29 Milwaukee, WI - Summerfest*
31 Ft. Leonard Wood, MO - Ft. Leonard Wood Arena*