Run-DMC Rejoin Aerosmith for 'Walk This Way' at Hollywood Bowl Farewell

Aerosmith closed their second and final California Dream On concert at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night with Run-DMC joining them onstage for "Walk This Way" — the collision that first broke rock and rap apart from each other in 1986, recreated nearly four decades later.

The moment was engineered, not improvised. Aerosmith began the song in standard fashion, with founding drummer Joey Kramer making his only appearance of the evening alongside replacement drummer John Douglas. Then Steven Tyler stopped the band. "Hold on, hold on, something's wrong," he told the crowd. "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."

Nearly everyone present knew what came next. Run-DMC had been advertised as guests, and the sharper observers noticed Joe Perry holding the same Guild X-100 Bladerunner guitar he played in the 1986 video. Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels entered from opposite ends of the stage for what witnesses described as a bombastic rendition. "Run-DMC!" Tyler bellowed near the end, as Simmons and McDaniels bowed to the band. "We broke through the wall together and showed the world what they was missing."

What changed from opening night?

The set list stayed largely identical, but three things shifted. John Douglas replaced Dave Grohl behind the kit. The band added a cover of "Come Together." And Run-DMC appeared — the headline difference.

The headlining set also included "Toys in the Attic," "Back in the Saddle," "Sweet Emotion," "Dream On," and a finale of "Train Kept A-Rollin'."

The guest slots ran deep earlier in the night:

• Tom Morello and Lzzy Hale played "Kings and Queens" and "Round and Round"
• Billy Idol sang "Livin' on the Edge" with Steve Stevens
• Grace Potter performed "What It Takes"
• Heart played "Janie's Got a Gun" and their own "Barracuda"
• The Black Crowes dug out "Get the Lead Out" from 1976's Rocks

Guns N' Roses rearranged their set entirely, opening with "Mama Kin" — a song they covered on their 1986 debut EP Live ?!@ Like a Suicide* — and following with "S.O.S. (Too Bad)," "Rats in the Cellar," and "Sick as a Dog." It was the first time they had ever played all three Aerosmith songs. They closed with "Sweet Child o' Mine" and "Nighttrain."

Were these Aerosmith's last shows?

Nobody official said so. Comedian Bill Burr called them "the final two shows in Aerosmith's history" on opening night, generating headlines and confusion. Tyler addressed it directly at the second show. "So Bill Burr said these are our final shows, huh?" he told the crowd. "Doesn't he know that you can't get rid of Aerosmith? In fact, at the end of the fuckin' world, there will only be cockroaches, Aerosmith and I guess Bill Burr!"

The band's track record supports part of Tyler's boast. Over 55 years, all five original members were still onstage both nights at the Hollywood Bowl. Yet the caveat matters: Aerosmith have not performed a full concert since their Peace Out farewell tour was cut short in 2023 after just three shows. Special-event appearances seem plausible; a return to the road or a full set does not.

What does this change for fans? If Burr was right, the band gave their audience something durable — a professional camera crew filmed both nights, which points toward a future documentary or concert film.