Culture 3 min read By Lauren Baxter
Aerosmith to Return for Two Nights at Hollywood Bowl Two Years After Farewell Tour
Aerosmith will come out of retirement for two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl on October 29 and November 1, billed as «California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends,» with guest appearances from Run-D.M.C., Billy Idol, Eric Church, Slash, The Black Crowes, Heart, Sammy Hagar and more.
Aerosmith is returning to the stage for two nights at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, roughly two years after the band wrapped its farewell tour and stepped away from live performance. The shows, set for October 29 and November 1, are billed as «California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends.»
The concerts will feature a long list of guest performers joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band across the two nights. Confirmed guests include Run-D.M.C., Billy Idol, Eric Church, Slash, The Black Crowes, Heart and Sammy Hagar, with more acts expected to be announced.
The announcement marks a reversal for a group that had presented its 2024 Peace Out: The Farewell Tour as a final chapter on the road. That tour was cut short in 2023 when singer Steven Tyler suffered vocal cord damage, and the band later rescheduled dates before completing the run in 2024. At the time, the group framed the tour as a permanent goodbye to extensive touring.
The Hollywood Bowl shows are not being described as a full tour. The two-night engagement is a limited return, built around the venue and the guest-heavy format. The title «California, Dream On» nods to the band's long association with Los Angeles and to one of its best-known songs, «Dream On.»
The guest lineup spans rock, hip-hop and country, reflecting Aerosmith's broad influence across genres. Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith famously collaborated on the 1986 remake of «Walk This Way,» a track that helped bring rap into the mainstream and revived the band's commercial fortunes. Slash, the Black Crowes and Heart represent the rock world, while Eric Church and Sammy Hagar add country and classic-rock strands to the bill.
The Hollywood Bowl, an iconic outdoor amphitheater in the hills above Los Angeles, has hosted generations of major acts. For Aerosmith, the venue offers a symbolic setting for a comeback that stops well short of a return to the road. The band has not indicated whether additional dates will follow.
Aerosmith's retirement from touring followed a long career that began in Boston in 1970 and produced hits including «Dream On,» «Sweet Emotion,» «Walk This Way» and «I Don't Want to Miss a Thing.» The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001 and remained a major touring act for decades.
Tickets and on-sale details for the two Hollywood Bowl concerts have not been fully disclosed. The announcement places Aerosmith among a small group of veteran rock acts that have stepped back from the road only to return for select, high-profile engagements rather than full-scale tours.
27
