Lynyrd Skynyrd Farewell Tour Will Stretch into 2020, New Music in the Works

Lynyrd Skynyrd is opting for a long goodbye... like many artists who have announced farewell tours.

In a new interview with USA Today, singer Johnny Van Zant said that while Skynyrd's farewell tour announcement was due to the health of guitarist Gary Rossington, the band is "...going to keep busy probably for another year and then see what happens next year, as long as Gary's health is okay."

Rossington's heart issues have led to multiple touring hiccups over the past few years, but Van Zant said, "He's doing really good right now. He had a pacemaker put in a while back. Gary loves to play. We've still got another record to make and are going into the studio pretty soon to cut a few things, so we’re just keeping on while we can."

As for the aforementioned new music, Van Zant didn't give any timeline for release. In fact, Skynyrd may opt to not go for the traditional album release route.

"We might just [release] them track by track, and then after we get it all done, put it together as a CD," said Van Zant. "We've had songs for a while, but we haven't been able to get in and actually finish recording."

Skynyrd's tour picks back up on May 4 in West Palm Beach, Fla. A full list of upcoming tour dates can be found at LynyrdSkynyrd.com.

Erica Banas is rock/classic rock news blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.