Lynyrd Skynyrd Wants To Make Room For New Music

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lead singer, Johnny Van Zant, revealed in a recent interview that the band remains open to recording new studio material despite the loss of founding guitarist Gary Rossington, who passed away in March 2023 at age 71.

Honoring Rossington with a Star-Studded Live Album

To pay tribute to Rossington’s legacy, the band is releasing a live album called Celebrating 50 Years: Live at the Ryman, arriving tomorrow via Frontiers Records. The album includes appearances from artists such as country singer Jelly Roll, guitarist Marcus King, Shinedown’s Brent Smith, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s own Donnie Van Zant.

Potential for New Studio Songs from Gary Rossington’s Legacy

Van Zant shared that the band had begun working on new material before Rossington’s health declined:

“We recorded a song called ‘The Last of the Street Survivors,’ and we put it out [in 2020]. We were headed to doing a new studio album, and then Gary’s health got really bad. There are other songs written with Gary before he died that we could record. We will leave that door open for the future.”

Staying True to Their Live Performance Roots

When asked about the release of new material, Van Zant said:

“It would be a question of time. For me, Skynyrd always made great records, but it was a live band, and that’s still true today. When I first joined [in 1987] we were all still into drinking and having a party on stage – just like the audience – but nowadays we soak that music up. It’s become more of a spiritual thing, and we never, ever phone it in. That’s something I’m very proud of.”

Meanwhile, Lynyrd Skynyrd continues to perform live, with numerous European and North American tour dates booked through October.