ZZ Top may have lost its drummer of more than 50 years on Monday, but lead singer and guitarist Billy Gibbons wasn’t in Austin to shed tears. He, along with bassist Elwood Francis and fill-in drummer Michael Monahan, was honoring Frank Beard the way Beard would have wanted. 

“So I guess some of you probably know, there’s a new man in town,” Gibbons said at the beginning of ZZ Top’s first of two shows in Austin. “But we’re all here for a celebration, you know what’s going on. So we’re gonna have a good time.” 

Beard died Monday at his ranch in Richmond, Texas, at the age of 77, just weeks after leaving The Big One! Tour due to an unspecified illness. Three tour dates were cancelled after Beard’s death. But Gibbons didn’t leave any doubt that they would quickly be back on stage: “The band of which he was part for six decades is going to keep on keeping on as he had wished.”

Whether it was purposeful or kismet or both, the legendary Houston band was able to return and remember Beard in their home state at Austin’s Moody Theater, “one of Frank’s favorite venues and in a city that had been something of a second home for him,” as they put it. 

With sparkling jackets, choreographed shredding, seemingly infinite guitars and bass guitars—including one that Gibbons flipped over to show the word “BEER” on its back—Gibbons, Francis and Monahan kept on. Leading into the set’s third song, Gibbons turned to Monahan and instructed him to “do one for Frank.” Monahan grinned and did just that for “Gimme All Your Lovin’.” 

Beard joined ZZ Top in 1969 after meeting Gibbons in Houston. Gibbons had recently lost his other two bandmates and was looking for replacements. But Beard found him instead, having known of Gibbons from the Moving Sidewalks and ZZ Top. 

“I hunted all over the place, found Billy Gibbons, made him go—I mean just threatened him—made him go to the rehearsal studio and we jammed,” Beard said in the 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas. “I was jacked up on speed, so I made him jam for about eight hours until his tongue fell out.” 

“It didn’t take 30 minutes, it didn’t take 30 seconds. I knew that Frank Beard had the kind of chops I was looking for,” Gibbons said in the same documentary. 

Beard brought in bassist Dusty Hill, creating the most well-known ZZ Top lineup that remained intact until Hill died in 2021. Over the decades, the band put out 15 studio albums—with classics that appeared on Saturday night including “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs” and “La Grange”—and earned generations of fans. Through it all, they showcased their uniquely Texas sound, from “La Grange” to “I Gotsta Get Paid,” an interpretation of Houston rap classic “25 Lighters” that made a surprise appearance on Saturday. 

The encore featured two fakeouts, where the band would bow before Gibbons turned to Monahan, who, each time, held up a finger to say “one more song.” And the celebration for their late friend would continue just a little bit longer.

“Somebody lock the door,” Gibbons said at one point. “Let’s just play all night long.”