The great Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy has now been around, in one form or another, for 50 years. The band started in Dublin in 1969, and they went on an absolute monster run in the ’70s. In 1986, when he was just 36, frontman Phil Lynott died after suffering from organ failure. But some version of the band has continued ever since then. The current touring lineup of Thin Lizzy doesn’t feature any original members, though guitarist Scott Gorham played a lot of their famous triumphant twin leads in the ’70s, and keyboardist Darren Wharton first joined the band in 1981. (Both of them have been in and out of the band a few times over the years.) And this summer, they’ve got themselves a new bass player: Motherfucking Troy Sanders from Mastodon.

Thin Lizzy aren’t going on a huge tour this summer or anything; Sanders is simply joining them for four European festival dates, where they’ll celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band and the 40th anniversary of their album Black Rose. Sanders takes the place of Aerosmith’s Tom Hamilton, who was with Thin Lizzy when they played their last run of shows.

In Thin Lizzy’s Facebook announcement, Gorham says, “We met a few years ago at Download festival and [Troy]’s a great guy and killer bass player to boot so very happy he wanted to join us for the shows this summer.” Meanwhile, Sanders says, “It’s no secret that Thin Lizzy has had a big influence on Mastodon’s music. Being asked to join them on stage is a big deal and true honor to me. I am really looking forward to it!” Below, check out the dates and the Facebook announcement.

TOUR DATES:
7/28 – Ebbw Vale, UK @ Steelhouse Festival (Black Rose album set)
8/04 – Cheshire, UK @ Rewind North Festival
8/08 – Alicante, Spain @ Leyendas Del Rock Festival
8/10 – Kortrijk, Belgium @ Alcatraz Festival