ZZ Top’s drummer Frank Beard will be temporarily stepping away from the band’s current “Elevation Tour” due to an “unspecified health issue.” Longtime tech member John Douglas will fill in during his absence. Douglas has been with the band for over twenty years and once manned the drum kit when Beard, 75, underwent an emergency appendectomy in 2002. “Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top’s management, has announced the band’s drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend to a health issue requiring his focus in the near term,” the statement read. “He is looking forward to a speedy recovery.” The Elevation tour began in the US in October last year and is set to run until the end of August. It’s unclear if Beard, who has been with the band since its 1969 founding, will rejoin the tour at any point.

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2025/03/legendary-classic-rock-bands-founding-drummer-leaves-tour-due-to-health-issue.html