ZZ Top cancels Aug. 17 Northern Quest show, citing illness

Bad news, sharp dressed fans: ZZ Top won’t be playing in Spokane after all.

Citing an illness to drummer Frank Beard, the trio announced Thursday that it’s bowing out of its scheduled Aug. 17 stop at Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Airway Heights.

Full refunds will be issued for ticket holders who paid with a credit card, Northern Quest said Thursday in a news release. For those who paid in cash, refunds will be available at the Northern Quest and TicketsWest box offices.

According to a news release from ZZ Top, Beard – the only member without long, scraggly face fuzz – was diagnosed with pneumonia after returning from Europe as part of the band’s 50th Anniversary Tour. The last date was in London on July 12.

“He apparently came down with the ailment while on the band’s just-completed tour of Europe and, upon his return home, was advised by his physician to rest and recuperate,” the band wrote.

The cancellation includes the first four dates of the U.S. leg of the tour. That includes Ridgefield, Washington, on Aug. 16, Airway Heights on Aug. 17, Vancouver, British Columbia, on Aug. 18 and Yakima on Aug. 20.

There is no plan to reschedule the Airway Heights show.

ZZ Top joins a growing list of musicians that has canceled Spokane shows. Last month, Joy Formidable canceled its Lucky You Lounge show. In June, singer Josh Ritter scrapped his Knitting Factory concert due to vocal issues.

And in May, famed folk-rock singer Art Garfunkel was forced to cancel his performance after the Martin Woldson Theater flooded amid a city-wide torrential downpour. Ritter and Garfunkel have rescheduled their dates.