Eagle Fest Review with Photos 10-3-26

ZZ Top, Cheap Trick and AJ Vallejo turn a warm October night at Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion into a celebration of Texas rock and classic rock history.

     The Eagle's Eagle Fest brought together three very different generations and styles of rock Saturday night, October 3, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, with AJ Vallejo opening the evening, Cheap Trick following and hometown legends ZZ Top closing out a night that felt particularly significant for the Houston crowd. Throughout the evening, The Eagle's own Outlaw Dave served as the voice of the festival along with other Eagle radio personalities, introducing each act and helping connect the performances to the local music community that has made events like Eagle Fest possible.

    The warm and humid Houston evening did little to slow the crowd down. By the time ZZ Top took the stage, the Pavilion was packed with hometown fans ready to welcome one of the city's most recognizable musical exports back home. What made the night even more meaningful was that it marked ZZ Top's first Houston-area appearance since the August 17th passing of longtime drummer Frank Beard, who had been part of the band's legendary lineup for 56 years. Beard's death left Billy Gibbons as the only remaining member of ZZ Top's classic trio, alongside bassist Elwood Francis and new drummer Michael Monahan. The band has continued forward, honoring Beard's wish that ZZ Top keep playing.

“Houston didn't just get a night of classic rock. It got a night that connected the city's musical past, present and future.”

AJ Vallejo Opens Eagle Fest With a Texas-Built Rock Foundation

    The evening began with AJ Vallejo and his four-piece band, a fitting choice for a festival built around the Texas rock community. Vallejo handled vocals and guitar, joined by Michael Ingalls on guitar, Sean McNulty on bass and Vinnie Ambrosone on drums. All four musicians are Texas natives, giving the opening performance a distinctly local character before the evening moved into the larger legacy acts.

    Vallejo is no stranger to the rock world, having spent years performing with musicians from across the Texas and national rock scene. Rather than attempting to compete with the established legends who would follow, the four-piece used the opening slot to establish a straightforward, guitar-driven rock foundation and get the crowd moving. Ingalls and Vallejo provided the guitar attack while McNulty and Ambrosone supplied the rhythmic backbone, making the group sound considerably larger than a typical opening act.

    Having Houston's Eagle Outlaw Dave introduce Vallejo also reinforced what Eagle Fest was about from the beginning: celebrating the musicians and community surrounding the city's rock scene rather than simply presenting another arena-style concert.

Cheap Trick Proves the Classics Still Have Plenty of Gas

    By the time Cheap Trick hit the stage, the crowd was ready for the first major dose of classic rock nostalgia. Few bands have managed to occupy the space between hard rock, power pop and radio-friendly hooks as successfully as Cheap Trick and the band's performance demonstrated why songs written nearly five decades ago can still command an audience.

    Rick Nielsen remains the unmistakable visual and musical centerpiece, surrounded by his collection of guitars and delivering the riffs that helped make Cheap Trick one of rock's most distinctive bands. Robin Zander continues to possess the voice that made the band's recordings so recognizable, while touring musicians Daxx Nielsen, Rick's son, on drums and Robin Taylor Zander, Robin's son, add another generation to the band's touring lineup. Tom Petersson continues to anchor the low end on bass.

    The set opened with “Clock Strikes Ten” before moving into “Just Got Back” and “He's a Whore,” immediately establishing the combination of hooks and guitar crunch that has defined Cheap Trick since its emergence from Rockford, Illinois, in the 1970s. “Big Eyes” followed, leading into a drum solo from Daxx Nielsen that gave the drummer a chance to showcase his playing before the band returned with “Ain't That a Shame” and “Southern Girls.”

    “Heaven Tonight” and “High Roller” kept the momentum moving, with “High Roller” providing a special generational moment when Robin Taylor Zander, son of longtime frontman Robin Zander, stepped forward to handle the lead vocals. Tom Petersson then took the lead vocal on “I Know What I Want,” giving the longtime bassist another opportunity to step into the spotlight.

    The heat was noticeable, particularly under the stage lights. Zander was already visibly sweating from the opening song, but he continued working the stage and delivering the vocals with the energy that has characterized his performances for decades. Nielsen moved around the stage as well, although at a somewhat slower pace than Houston audiences may have seen from him in previous years following recent health issues. Even with that reduced mobility, the guitar playing remained unmistakably Rick Nielsen.

    Then came the song the crowd had been waiting for.

     When “I Want You to Want Me” began, the Pavilion erupted into a massive sing-along, with the audience carrying much of the chorus. “Dream Police” followed, bringing one of Cheap Trick's most recognizable songs into the set before “Surrender” pushed the performance toward its finale. Zander and the band closed the main set with “Goodnight,” leaving the audience with a fitting end to a set that balanced the band's heavier material with its biggest pop-rock moments.

    Throughout the performance, Nielsen repeatedly reached for a handful of guitar picks and tossed them into the crowd, giving fans near the barricade a chance to take home a small piece of the evening. It was classic Cheap Trick: loud guitars, memorable hooks, family ties and a sense that the band was still having fun with the songs that made it famous.

“When ‘I Want You to Want Me’ turned into a Pavilion-wide sing-along, the years between Cheap Trick's heyday and the present seemed to disappear.”

ZZ Top Brings Houston Home

    If Cheap Trick delivered the evening's power-pop history lesson, ZZ Top delivered the hometown moment everyone had been waiting for.

    Formed in Houston in 1969, ZZ Top became one of rock's most identifiable bands through the combination of Billy Gibbons' blues-based guitar playing, Dusty Hill's bass and vocals and Frank Beard's unmistakable rhythmic foundation. The trio maintained that core lineup for more than five decades before Hill's death in 2021 led to Elwood Francis joining the band. Beard's death this August marked another profound change, leaving Gibbons as the only surviving member of the classic lineup.

    For Houston, however, ZZ Top has always been more than another classic-rock band. This is home.

    The hometown response was immediate when Gibbons, Francis and Monahan launched into “Got Me Under Pressure.” The familiar blues-rock groove was followed by “I Thank You,” the Sam & Dave classic that ZZ Top made their own, before the band moved through “Waitin' for the Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.” The pairing reminded everyone that beneath the MTV-era sunglasses, cars, guitars and beards was a band deeply rooted in American blues and Southern rock.

    “Gimme All Your Lovin'” brought one of the biggest reactions of the night, followed by “Pearl Necklace,” “I'm Bad I'm Nationwide” and “I Gotsta Get Paid,” demonstrating that the ZZ Top catalog extends well beyond the songs that dominated radio and MTV in the 1980s.

    “My Head's in Mississippi” kept the blues-heavy side of the set alive before Gibbons performed “Brown Paper Bag,” giving the Houston crowd a reminder of his work beyond the core ZZ Top catalog. “Cheap Sunglasses” followed, leading into “Just Got Paid,” where the band's boogie-rock roots once again took center stage.

    The evening's emotional significance surrounding Beard was present without turning the concert into a memorial. Instead, ZZ Top did what the band has always done best: they played. Gibbons' guitar remained the centerpiece, Francis provided the familiar low-end foundation that has allowed the band's songs to continue sounding like ZZ Top and Monahan stepped behind the drums to carry forward the rhythmic role that Beard occupied for more than half a century. ZZ Top had already returned to the stage in Austin following Beard's death, where Gibbons made clear that the band intended to continue, but bringing that continuation back to the Houston area carried an entirely different weight.

    Gibbons also made sure the evening stayed unmistakably Texas. At one point, he told the crowd about visiting a local farm near the Pavilion before the show and getting the chance to hold a piglet. Gibbons proceeded to imitate the piglet's squeal for the audience, producing one of those wonderfully odd and completely natural moments that have long been part of the ZZ Top experience. It was humorous, distinctly Texan and perfectly in keeping with the personality that has always made Gibbons such an entertaining frontman.

    “Sharp Dressed Man” sent the crowd into another frenzy, followed by “Legs,” which brought out the famous furry guitars associated with the song. Gibbons even reached into a hidden pocket in his guitar during the performance, pulled out a guitar pick and handed it to a fan at the front of the stage.

    It was a small gesture, but in a night filled with history, it became another memorable Houston moment.

“For a band that has spent more than five decades defining Texas rock, ZZ Top's return to the Houston area felt less like a concert and more like coming home.”

    The encore began with “Brown Sugar,” followed by “Tube Snake Boogie” and “Thunderbird,” before the night finally reached its inevitable conclusion with “La Grange.”

    By then, the Pavilion had spent several hours moving through different eras of rock. AJ Vallejo and his all-Texas four-piece opened the night with a younger generation's take on guitar-driven rock. Cheap Trick demonstrated that the songs of the 1970s still have the power to turn a massive audience into a choir. ZZ Top closed the night by reminding Houston that some musical identities are simply inseparable from the place where they began.

    The loss of Frank Beard inevitably gave the ZZ Top performance an added layer of meaning. His presence had been part of the band's identity for more than 50 years and his signature playing helped create the groove that made ZZ Top instantly recognizable. Saturday night's performance wasn't defined by what was missing, it was defined by what remained: Gibbons' guitar, the songs, the Texas spirit and a band determined to continue.

    For Eagle Fest, that made the night more than a three-band bill. It was a celebration of where Texas rock has been, where it is now and where it continues to go. For Houston, there may have been no more fitting way to end the night than with ZZ Top playing “La Grange” under the lights at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

ZZ Top Setlist:
Got Me Under Pressure
I Thank You (Sam & Dave cover)
Waitin' for the Bus
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Gimme All Your Lovin'
Pearl Necklace
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
I Gotsta Get Paid
My Head's in Mississippi
Brown Paper Bag (Billy Gibbons song)
Cheap Sunglasses
Just Got Paid
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs
Encore:
Brown Sugar
Tube Snake Boogie
Thunderbird
La Grange

Cheap Trick Setlist:
Clock Strikes Ten
Just Got Back
He’s a Whore
Big Eyes
Ain’t That A Shame
Southern Girls
Heaven Tonight
High Roller
I Know What I Want (Tom Peterson on Vocals)
I Want You to Want Me
Dream Police
Surrender
Goodnight