It's been 1147 days since Aerosmith last stepped onto the stage together, and more than six years since drummer Joey Kramer was part of the package.
Since abandoning the Peace Out... Farewell Tour after just three shows in 2023 – when frontman Steven Tyler suffered vocal cord injuries and a fractured larynx during a show in Elmont, NY – it's often seemed unlikely that the band would ever play again.
"I'm not sure I would want to go out and book another 40-city tour," said Joe Perry last year, explaining that Tyler was no longer interested in hitting the road. "It's a long way to the top, and staying there takes it out of you, especially an Aerosmith tour."
Perry also offered a glimmer of hope. "I would bet that there's an Aerosmith show left," he said. "There's been talk about doing a documentary, that might be part of it."
While Perry toured with the Hollywood Vampires and his own Joe Perry Project – joined by fellow Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford – bassist Tom Hamilton formed a new band, Close Enemies, whose debut album was released in March. Meanwhile, drummer Joey Kramer was working his way back to fitness after suffering a series of health problems: a shoulder injury, an ankle injury, and triple-bypass heart surgery.
"When you've got five knuckleheads that all think the same way that we do, anything can happen," Kramer said earlier this year. "How did we all get put together to begin with, you know? It's sort of incomplete, the way that it ended – or tried to end."
Tyler was also on the mend. He returned to the stage in 2024 when he guested at a Black Crowes show in London, then at his Jam For Janie charity fundraiser, before appearing with Perry for the first time since 2023. The duo also appeared together at a Joe Perry Project show, and at MTV's annual Video Music Awards, where they joined Yungblood onstage to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne.
Everything had fallen into place. Which gets us to where we are today: The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Aerosmith & Friends' California: Dream On, an all-star, Back To The Beginning-style celebration of the Bad Boys from Boston, hosted by Bill Burr. Would Joey Kramer perform? Are all five founding members of Aerosmith officially back in the saddle again?
The full setlist is below, with a core house band that includes Don Was, Nuno Bettencourt, Kenny Aronoff, Chad Smith, Andrew Watt, Mike Inez and others backing several guest musicians before the Black Crowes, Guns N' Roses and Aerosmith arrive to complete the historic night.
Aerosmith and Friends: California Dream On setlist
Make It (Sully Erna, Godsmack)
Lightning Strikes (Sully Erna, Godsmack)
Lord Of The Thighs (Warren Hayes)
Walkin' The Dog (Warren Haynes)
Livin' On The Edge (Billy Idol and Steve Stevens)
Draw The Line (Sammy Hagar)
Helter Skelter (Sammy Hagar)
Never Loved A Man (Heart)
Janie’s Got A Gun (Heart)
Rag Doll (Eric Church)
I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing (Eric Church)
Let The Music Do The Talking (Black Crowes)
Write Me A Letter (Black Crowes)
Combination (Black Crowes)
No More No More (Black Crowes)
Chip Away The Stone (Black Crowes)
Nobody’s Fault (Guns N' Roses)
Last Child (Guns N' Roses)
Seasons Of Wither (Guns N' Roses)
Welcome To The Jungle (Guns N' Roses)
Paradise City (Guns N' Roses)
Toys In The Attic (Aerosmith with Dave Grohl on drums)
Back In The Saddle (Aerosmith with Dave Grohl)
Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith with Dave Grohl)
Dream On (Aerosmith with Dave Grohl)
Train Kept A Rollin' (Aerosmith with Dave Grohl, Johnny Depp on guitar)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith with Joey Kramer and John Douglas on drums)
