On October 29, 2026, Aerosmith returned after three years for a two-night residency at the Hollywood Bowl called California Dream On: Aerosmith & Friends. These comeback performances in Los Angeles are the band’s first since Steven Tyler’s vocal cord injury in 2023. The iconic rock singer suffered a fractured larynx in 2023 and subsequently retired from touring in August 2024. Additionally, their 2024 tour, dubbed Peace Out: The Farewell Tour, was canceled as well.
Due to extended vocal rest over the last three years, Tyler has gradually rehabilitated his voice. After resting his larynx and damaged vocal cords, he’s healed enough to perform in limited, short performances. Tyler has yet to return for a full set, with the band only performing six songs per evening. Still, fans were joyous at the return of the best-selling American rock band of all time.
On the first night, Dave Grohl joined the band, sitting in on drums for most of the set. Also, Johnny Depp joined on “Train Kept A-Rollin ‘,” and original Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer joined on “Walk This Way.” Ahead of Aerosmith’s performance, fans were treated to covers of their iconic songs by other legendary artists such as Guns N’ Roses, Tom Morello and Lzzy Hale, Marcus King, Heart, Jerry Cantrell, Billy Idol, Sammy Hagar, and more.
rUN-dmc Makes Special Appearance at Hollywood Bowl
On the second evening of the residency, November 1, fans got a huge surprise. Aerosmith reunited with Run-DMC on stage to perform their 1986 version of “Walk This Way”. Back in 1986, thanks to Rick Rubin, this collaboration helped merge rap and rock music for the first time. It helped revitalize Aerosmith’s career while also introducing rap to the rock world. It fueled a second wind of popularity for Aerosmith, taking them into a new era with a string of huge hits in the late 80s and the 90s.
At first, Aerosmith teased the crowd, playing the beginning of “Walk This Way” like normal, without the special guests. Suddenly, Steven Tyler said, “Hold on, hold on, something’s wrong. We’re missing something. I think you know what I mean. We’re missing some people! This song ain’t the song without some people”. Following this, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl “DMC” McDaniel’s appeared on stage to a grand applause from the crowd. They restarted the song with a bit more swagger as Joe Perry played the same guitar he used in the 1986 music video.
Photo by Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images
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