Lynyrd Skynyrd has a long history that includes family and tradition. The band released their debut album in August of 1973. Here it is 2026 and the band is still out on the raod. You can see all the upcoming dates at LynyrdSkynyrd.com. The current run of shows include some with Foreigner dubbed “The Double Trouble, Double Vision Tour.” We recently had a video chat with guitarist Rickey Medlocke.
The band also has a giveaway for a "VIP Concert experience to someone with the BEST #FreeBirdMoment!" You can learn more about that here on the band’s Instagram. Rickey even shared with us the funniest “Freebird” story he heard. Watch the interview and let him tell you the story himself. Trust me, you’ll laugh for sure!
Rickey had been a member of Skynyrd from 1971 to 1972, prior to the release of the band’s debut album. That makes him the current longest tenured member of the band. We spoke about the tour and the band continuing on. I could feel Rickey get emotional at points in the conversation. Especially because he shared with us conversations he had with Gary Rossington when his health began to tell him time was short. Rickey told us “I feel very blessed and fortunate that I’ve been able to be such a part of this iconic name, band. I promised Gary Rossington that when I got back in the band that I would be here till the final note of ”Freebird" was struck. I wish he was still here with me. It’s still hard for me to think about."
When Rickey and I spoke in 2024, we discussed new music the band was working. The idea was to complete music Gary Rossington had been part of before he passed and release it as an album in tribute to Gary. We discussed the current status of the album. Plus you can see a clip below from 2024 and see what Rickey had to say about the project then.
We also took some time to discuss their release “Live At The Ryman.” “We did a live thing at the Ryman, ”Live at The Ryman." And we really weren’t going to, we were just doing that for public TV. We weren’t going to put it out. And we had the cameras rolling and Gary was there. He came out and he played. We had all these special guests come out, you know, on this video, this film. And lo and behold, shortly after that, Gary passed away. And you know what? That was his final show."
We aslo took some time to discuss Hell House Whiskey. An endeavor that Rickey has with Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant. We covered a lot. The only thing left to do now, is go catch the band on the road!
