Dan Aykroyd, the legendary original “other comedic half” of the famed Blues Brothers, has announced that he’ll be performing at the House Of Blues 20th anniversary bash as the opening act for ZZ Top. The gala is set to take place at the venue’s Los Angeles Sunset Boulevard location on December 4th. The gig, however, is only the beginning. Aykroyd has released plans to travel across the country over the next few months, stopping at many of the House of Blues’ 13 locations along the way.
Tuesday’s party is a celebration of the first 20 years for the storied franchise that Aykroyd built along with Belushi’s widow Judy and Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett. It has seen the likes of Stevie Wonder and, Aerosmith to name a few – but was hit especially hard by the economic downturn in the wake of 9/11. In order to “keep it alive and save 2000-plus jobs,” as Aykroyd told Rolling Stone Magazine, the venue chain was sold to Live Nation in 2006.
Aykroyd (Elwood Blues) will reprise his role alongside the late John Belushi’s brother, Jim, and the 12-piece Blues Brothers Band. Tuesday show will be bittersweet, however, because of the loss earlier this year of Donald “Duck” Dunn. Dunn, who was featured in both Blues Brothers movies and was a Rock n Roll Hall of Fame inductee, was a critical part of the Blues Brothers endeavor, and is still sorely missed by the legions of fans who were touched by the Stax Records sound.
