Aerosmith returned to the stage for their first full concert appearance since 2023 at the Hollywood Bowl on October 29. Johnny Depp joined Joe Perry on guitar, Dave Grohl played drums for the first five songs, and Joey Kramer returned for “Walk This Way”. Separate performances by Guns N’ Roses, Heart and The Black Crowes helped celebrate the band’s history during the Los Angeles event.
Aerosmith reunited at the Hollywood Bowl three years after their last regular concert appearance as a band. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford and Tom Hamilton took the stage on Thursday, October 29, for “California, Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends”. The event combined a tribute to their music with a six-song performance and several guests.
Johnny Depp provided one of the evening’s surprises. Towards the end of the set, Perry invited him onstage for “Train Kept A-Rollin’”. Their connection comes through Hollywood Vampires, the group they formed with Alice Cooper. Depp stood beside Perry with his guitar, joining a song long associated with the band’s live performances.
Tyler welcomed him with a joke, and the appearance remained confined to that number. Depp did not play throughout the whole set. Grohl was on drums during the song, bringing another musician with an established connection to the evening into the performance. The cameo placed Depp and Perry’s existing partnership within a different concert setting.
Grohl had been behind the kit from the beginning of the Aerosmith set. The Foo Fighters musician played “Toys in the Attic”, “Back in the Saddle”, “Sweet Emotion”, “Dream On” and “Train Kept A-Rollin’”. Those five selections made up most of the programme, before a change of drummers gave the final number a different significance.
Tyler also joked about how Grohl had asked to take part. His contribution allowed the band to work through several familiar songs before Joey Kramer’s return. The founding drummer then sat down for “Walk This Way”, marking his first appearance with the group since 2020 after a lengthy absence from its concerts.
John Douglas, who had filled the drum position at earlier performances, played alongside Kramer on a second kit. The finale therefore included both the returning founding member and the musician who had covered his role. For Aerosmith, the moment brought an important part of their shared history back into view at the end of the set.
Before that last song, Tyler addressed the audience about the journey he had shared with his bandmates. He named Perry, Hamilton, Whitford and Kramer, describing them as his brothers and reflecting on the years behind them. His remarks focused on the fact that they were together again, immediately before Kramer took his place for the finale. Tyler referred to 55 years together in his address, using the moment to recognise the musicians individually before the last song reunited them in front of the Hollywood Bowl audience.
An earlier reunion had recalled a different chapter in the band’s history. Screens showed the 1994 video for “Crazy”, after which Liv Tyler and Alicia Silverstone appeared onstage. Both actresses had starred in the video 32 years earlier. Liv joked about the girls the audience had just seen onscreen, while Silverstone remembered how young they had been.
The actresses also said they had brought their children to the concert. Their appearance preceded the Aerosmith performance and linked the occasion to a video familiar to another generation of listeners. It was one of several moments in which people associated with the band’s past returned to help introduce or celebrate its music.
Earlier, Guns N’ Roses had delivered a separate set, beginning with the honourees’ “Nobody’s Fault”, “Last Child” and “Seasons of Wither”. Axl Rose, Slash and their bandmates then played their own “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City”. This was a distinct performance within the event, rather than a joint appearance by the two bands.
Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson selected Aretha Franklin’s “Never Loved a Man”, which Aerosmith had covered, alongside “Janie’s Got a Gun”. The Black Crowes also performed their own set. Chris Robinson recalled the help the band had given them early in their career, particularly the opportunity to join their first tour of major indoor arenas.
Robinson expressed continuing gratitude for that support. Billy Idol, Sammy Hagar, Eric Church and other guests also contributed selections from the catalogue, ranging from major hits to older album material. Those individual interpretations built the tribute before Tyler, Perry, Whitford and Hamilton arrived with Grohl for the group’s first full appearance since September 2023.
The reunion followed the cancellation of the “Peace Out” farewell tour. Tyler suffered a serious vocal injury in 2023, initially forcing postponements. In August 2024, Aerosmith announced their retirement from touring. That background made the Hollywood Bowl performance particularly significant, while leaving an important distinction between a special event and a return to a regular touring schedule.
No new tour announcement accompanied the Hollywood Bowl shows. A second concert in the same event was scheduled for Sunday, November 1, with a different selection of guest artists. For this opening night, the six songs, Depp’s brief guitar appearance and Kramer’s return provided the focus, alongside tributes from performers whose careers and friendships intersected with the band.
