In 2026, Lynyrd Skynyrd is a “Ship of Theseus” band. Theseus’ Paradox asks: Is a ship with all of the original parts changed still the same ship? Lynyrd Skynyrd combats this view with a focus on the songs, rather than the presence of the original band members.
The band lost frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup singer Cassie Gaines to a plane crash in 1977, and while the rest of the band eventually carried on, time and age caught up to them. Guitarist Gary Rossington’s passing in 2023 meant all the members of the original lineup were no longer around. Now, Ronnie’s brother, Johnny Van Zant, leads the band, providing a tremendous tribute to his brother—and celebrating their catchy and twangy rock songs, some of which have outlived the creators.
You can catch Lynyrd Skynyrd on Friday, Sept. 25, at the Reno Events Center. They’ll surely play the timeless hits like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird,” but also will surprise the audience with random cuts across the group’s 14 studio albums.
“We may do ‘Don’t Ask Me No Questions’ (from the band’s 1974 album, Second Helping) one night, and ‘Still Unbroken’ (from the band’s 2009 release God & Guns) the next night,” Van Zant said during a recent phone interview. “We’re trying to, in the middle of that set, spice it up a little bit. That’s not only for the fans who deserve to hear other songs, but for us, too, so we don’t get in that rut of the same songs every night. That’s not to say that we don’t love doing that, because we know whenever we do certain songs, we’re going to get a response—but you know what? Sometimes it’s OK to go back deep into the catalog and do some stuff.
“We’ve been doing ‘I Need You,’ which is one of the few love songs that Skynyrd had ever written. It’s a song about a guy and a girl. I guess you could say ‘Free Bird’ really is like that, but people don’t take it as much that way.”
Of course, Skynyrd can experiment as much as they want as long as they please the crowd with that unmistakable “Sweet Home Alabama” riff, and the beautiful rock ballad “Free Bird.”
“We know that our set’s going to end with (‘Free Bird’), no matter what,” Van Zant said. “Years and years ago, we were down somewhere in Texas, man, and I think it was when we were drinking a lot and doing other things, and we said, ‘Let’s start out with “Free Bird.” Let’s play the set backwards,’ and we actually did it that way that night. Everybody was like, ‘What?’ So that was the first and last time we’ll ever do that.”
In 1987, Van Zant joined the surviving Skynyrd crew for what was supposed to be a one-off reunion tour. It’s now nearly 40 years later, but for Van Zant, “It’s seemed like 40 seconds.”
“I always say somewhere, there’s some kid skipping school, learning ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’”
Johnny Van Zant
“I never wanted to be in this position, but God puts you in different positions that you don’t really understand, but it ain’t up to you to understand it,” he said.
Becoming the leader of a successful rock band took a lengthy adjustment period.
“I’d say the first 10 years of this, I was like, ‘Wow, man, am I doing a good enough job?’” Van Zant said. “Our fans have been with us for years and years, and we tremendously have a lot of newer and younger fans, it just gives me such great pleasure. I kind of fell into it, and with those younger ones and the older ones sticking with us and being there for 40 years, it’s just an amazing thing.”
In 2026, Skynyrd is as busy as ever.
“We just got through doing 19 shows with Foreigner in amphitheaters here on the East Coast, and every night, there were 12,000, 13,000, 14,000 people at every show—and it’s an amazing thing to see those younger (fans) coming out,” Van Zant said. “I always say somewhere, there’s some kid skipping school, learning ‘Sweet Home Alabama.’ The music, I think, is going to live on forever, long after I’m gone. They just wrote some great songs, and amazing songs that are generations strong.”
Van Zant said the band’s output is so monumental that it goes far beyond the “Southern rock” category under which the group often falls.
“For me, I think of rock ’n’ roll, because I’m a music fan,” he said. “Even if I wasn’t a part of this, I’d go Zeppelin, Skynyrd, Beatles. When you have a song like ‘Free Bird,’ that and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ have been the biggest rock songs ever.”
While the original compositions earned the band millions of fans, Skynyrd has reached new audiences when other artists take a crack at their songs. Musicians from Deftones to the late Dolly Parton have shared their versions of these country rock classics.
“Shinedown did ‘Simple Man,’ and they did a great job of that, and we’re getting ready to play with them,” Van Zant said. “We were talking, ‘Now, which one of us is going to play “Simple Man”?’ I said, ‘We had it first.’ I think they’re going to come out and join us onstage, and we’ll have a great time, but man, they did a fantastic job of it, and really broadened that song to another audience, which I think is great. Gary Rossington did ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ with Metallica. Being in the band for 40 years, I’ve seen these younger artists—now they’ve become older artists—say that Skynyrd influenced them.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd has no plans to stop touring, and their mix of blues, country, hard rock and sweet sounds means they can fit on almost any bill.
“The music is so weird with Skynyrd,” Van Zant said. “We were over in Europe years ago, and we were on this really heavy-metal festival called Hellfest in France. They got a big sign made out of metal that says ‘Welcome to Hell,’ and I’m going, ‘How in the hell are we going to fit in this?’ The band before us, I can’t even remember who the hell it was, but the guy was screaming, and the crowd was frigging beating the shit out of each other. I’m like, ‘Wait a minute; how are we going to frigging come out here and play with this group?’ We came out, and we killed it. The fans were so friggin’ awesome. We have played that festival three times now.
“Then we came back to America, and we were doing a show with Tim McGraw, and I was like, ‘OK, how’s Skynyrd and Tim McGraw gonna go?’ It was amazing. The country fans love it; the heavier fans love it. We went to Brazil earlier this year with Guns N’ Roses at the Monsters of Rock, and we killed it. It’s an amazing thing, the way Skynyrd music has really come across every genre.”
Lynyrd Skynyrd is set to perform at 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 25, at the Reno Events Center, at 400 University Way in Reno. Tickets start at $73.61. Click here for tickets or more information.