Aerosmith played its first concert in three years on Thursday, October 29, 2026, taking over the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with Dave Grohl on drums and Johnny Depp on guitar for one song. The show, billed as “California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends,” also featured tribute sets from Guns N’ Roses and The Black Crowes.
It was the band’s first time on stage since Steven Tyler’s vocal injury abruptly ended its farewell tour in 2023, and reviewers from the Boston Globe to Consequence agreed on one thing: Tyler’s voice sounded ready for the moment.
What We Know
The nearly four-hour event was structured as a celebration of Aerosmith’s catalog, with a string of guest acts covering the band’s songs before the headliners closed the night. Comedian Bill Burr served as emcee, and actresses Liv Tyler, Steven Tyler’s daughter, and Alicia Silverstone, who starred in several of the band’s 1990s music videos, introduced the group.
Aerosmith’s own set was short, roughly 40 to 45 minutes and six songs, according to the reviews. Setlists published by Consequence and the Boston Globe included “Toys in the Attic,” “Back in the Saddle,” “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On,” “Train Kept A-Rollin'” and “Walk This Way.”
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who began his career as a drummer, sat behind the kit for the first five songs. Original Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer, who stepped away from the band before its 2023 tour for health reasons, came back to play “Walk This Way,” alongside recent touring drummer John Douglas.
Johnny Depp, who plays with guitarist Joe Perry in the supergroup Hollywood Vampires, joined the band for “Train Kept A-Rollin’.”
The undercard was stacked. Guns N’ Roses performed several Aerosmith songs before turning to their own hits, including “Welcome to the Jungle.” The Black Crowes also leaned into Aerosmith covers. Other performers included Heart, Sammy Hagar, Eric Church, Sully Erna of Godsmack, and Billy Idol with longtime guitarist Steve Stevens. Idol is no stranger to genre-crossing collaborations, having featured on Miley Cyrus‘s 2020 track “Night Crawling.”
Background
Aerosmith launched its “Peace Out” farewell tour in September 2023, but only three shows in, Tyler fractured his larynx. The rest of the dates were postponed, and in August 2024 the band announced it was retiring from touring altogether, saying a full vocal recovery was not possible.
That made Thursday’s show something few fans expected to see. In its review, the Boston Globe noted that Tyler delivered the chorus of “Back in the Saddle” with “barely diminished firepower.”
Reactions
Near the end of the night, Tyler reflected on the band’s long history. “Before we say good night, I just want to say what a ride it’s been with my brothers,” he told the crowd, according to Cox Media Group’s report on the show. He also noted that the band had been together for 55 years.
Burr, meanwhile, described the two Hollywood Bowl dates as potentially the final shows in Aerosmith’s history. The band itself has not made any such announcement, and reports have treated the remark as a possibility rather than a confirmed farewell.
What’s Next
A second “California, Dream On” concert is scheduled for Sunday, November 1, at the Hollywood Bowl. Variety reported that Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and Run-DMC, who famously remade “Walk This Way” with Aerosmith in 1986, are expected to appear.
Whether Sunday marks a true goodbye or the start of something more remains an open question. For now, the band has not announced any further dates.