Aerosmith played their first show since retiring from touring in 2024 on Thursday 29 October at the Hollywood Bowl, according to setlist reports published on 30 October. The show, dubbed Aerosmith and Friends, marked their first performance as a band since their last Peace Out farewell tour show in September 2023. The band played six songs and brought out two special guests: actor Johnny Depp and founding drummer Joey Kramer, who had not played with the band since 2020, according to 987 Jack and other setlist reports. The evening also featured performances from Guns N’ Roses, The Black Crowes, Billy Idol, Sammy Hagar, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Godsmack’s Sully Erna with Nuno Bettencourt, Eric Church and Warren Haynes.
A retirement, not quite a return.
Aerosmith had to postpone their farewell shows in autumn 2023 after singer Steven Tyler suffered a vocal injury, and the following summer the band cancelled the farewell tour and retired from touring due to damage to Tyler’s vocal cords, according to the reports. Tyler had performed a handful of times since then, including at his Jam for Janie events and at the Back to the Beginning show in 2025. The Hollywood Bowl show was therefore billed as a special-event concert, not a full return to the road, according to Ultimate Classic Rock coverage cited by 104.7 The Cave. The band had confirmed a pair of Aerosmith and Friends comeback concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, marking the first full official reconvening since the farewell tour was cancelled.
A night of friends and history.
The setlist, published on 30 October, opened with Toys in the Attic and included Train Kept a Rollin’ with Depp, according to the reports. For fans who thought they had seen Aerosmith’s last show in 2023, the Hollywood Bowl night was a chance to see the band together again, even if only for six songs and a night of guests. Whether it leads to more shows remains unconfirmed, and reports cautioned against reading more into it than what has been confirmed: a couple of special-event concerts, not a tour. For now, the Hollywood Bowl performance stands as a historic night in its own right.
