The future of Aerosmith is extremely uncertain due to Steven Tyler’s injured larynx, but that isn’t stopping guitarist Joe Perry from keeping the band’s music alive on the road. A new iteration of the Joe Perry Project — featuring Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford, Black Crowes frontman Chris Robinson, and Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo — kicked off their inaugural tour Wednesday evening at the Hard Rock Event Center in Tampa, Florida.
The set is heavy on Aerosmith classics like “Same Old Song and Dance,” “Mama Kin,” “Last Child,” and “Draw the Line,” but it also dips into the Black Crowes catalog for “Twice as Hard” and “Jealous Again,” and the STP library for “Vasoline” and “Interstate Love Song.” (STP drummer Eric Kretz was originally on board for the tour, but he dropped out at the last minute due to a “family emergency.” He was replaced by veteran Joe Perry Project drummer Jason Sutter. The band is rounded out by touring Aerosmith keyboardist Buck Johnson.)
For an idea of what this classic rock mashup band sounds like, check out their rendition of “Interstate Love Song.” It’s a slow, bluesy take that gives everyone onstage a moment to shine. “I think you know this one,” Robinson tells the audience before they kick it off. “From the mind of Mr. Robert DeLeo.” For the Aerosmith tunes, they stuck closer to the original arrangements, including the grand finale, “Walk This Way.”
For now, there are only 10 Joe Perry Project shows on the books. Shortly after it ends with a slot opening for the Who at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 17, Robinson is returning to his day job with the Black Crowes. DeLeo, meanwhile, has dates of his own to play with Stone Temple Pilots.
Aerosmith have been inactive ever since Tyler’s larynx injury ended the band’s 2023 Peace Out…Farewell Tour after a mere three concerts. Tyler recovered well enough in this past February to play a handful of songs with Perry at a Los Angeles benefit concert for his charity Janie’s Fund. He also performed “Walk This Way” and “Train Kept A-Rollin” at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert in July, and he showed no signs of any vocal damage, leading many fans to hope that Aerosmith could possibly return in some form.
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In a recent interview with WBUR, however, Perry said an Aerosmith tour remains unlikely. “He just doesn’t want to tour, and he can’t tour. It’s tough,” he said. “I’m not sure I would want to go out and book another 40-city tour. It’s a long way to the top and staying there takes it out of you, especially an Aerosmith tour.”
A Las Vegas residency is likely off the table as well. “I’ll never say never, but I wouldn’t bet on it — no pun intended,” Perry said. “You really have to want to be out there and we’re all at that point of: How do you want to live? How do you want to spend the next however long you’ve got?”
What is possible, however, is a Back to the Beginning-style farewell concert where Aerosmith can play together one last time, and end the band on a joyful note. “I know there’s gotta be at least another Aerosmith gig, and I’m not looking forward to putting the setlist together for that one,” Perry told Eddie Trunk in June. “But I don’t know, man. We’ll just have to see.”
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In the meantime, the Joe Perry Project is giving fans the closest thing possible to the Aerosmith experience. Here is their opening night set list:
Let the Music Do the Talking
My Fist Your Face (Aerosmith)
Same Old Song and Dance (Aerosmith)
East Coast, West Coast
Get the Lead Out (Aerosmith)
Twice as Hard (The Black Crowes)
Fortunate One
Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots)
Combination (Aerosmith)
Mama Kin / Get It Up (Aerosmith)
Vasoline (Stone Temple Pilots)
Won’t Let Me Go
Jealous Again (The Black Crowes)
Bright Light Fright (Aerosmith)
Last Child (Aerosmith)
Chip Away the Stone (Richard Supa)
Draw the Line (Aerosmith)
The Train Kept A-Rollin’ (Tiny Bradshaw)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith)
