Rock

After more than 50 years of rocking, REO Speedwagon will permanently park the tour bus at the end of the year. The long-running soft rock band known for such 1980s hits as “Keep on Loving You,” “Take It On the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling” announced on Monday (Sept. 16) that their upcoming U.S. dates will be their last due to intractable conflicts between the two longest-tenured members.

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“Bruce has intended to be Back On the Road Again by now. If it were up to just him, he’d be back on tour… but it’s not up to just him,” read a statement from the group in reference to bassist Bruce Hall, who has been off the road recuperating from back surgery while the band was touring with Train this summer.

“The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect,” they continued. “Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that [replacement bassist] Matt [Bissonette] has been around to keep the Wagon rolling through the summer tour. Bruce never had any intention of retiring or walking away from the band, fans, and crew he has loved for almost 50 years.”

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The message also noted that singer Kevin Cronin also “never had any intention” of leaving the band, but that things came to a head over unexplained stressors, leading to the difficult decision to call it a road day.

“Due to this complex situation, irreconcilable differences arose between Bruce and Kevin. So, it is with great sadness that we announce REO Speedwagon will cease touring effective January 1, 2025,” they announced. “[Keyboardist] Neal [Doughty], Kevin, and Bruce thank their fans for all their years of loyal support and for giving back to the band such wonderful memories that will remain with each of them forever.”

Writing on Facebook, Hall wrote his own goodbye, telling fans, “Never ever thought it would end like this and I’m heartbroken. Please know Neal and I did everything in our power to try and keep the Wagon rolling. I am so appreciative of ALL the amazing love & support. You guys have been very vocal and clear in your wishes for me to return to the stage. Trust me…that’s all I wanted too. We all deserved a farewell tour.” He noted that he wanted to the band to continue touring as it was prior to his successful, planned back surgery.

Last week, the band had to cancel shows in Chula Vista, CA and Phoenix, AZ after Cronin was felled by an undisclosed illness. Train and REO Speedwagon launched their 44-date co-headlining Summer Road trip on July 8 and wrapped it up on Sept. 11; only Train peformed at the latter show in Phoenix due to Cronin’s illness. The group has a final round of headlining dates slated to kick off on Sept. 27 at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, CA before playing what will now be their swan song on Nov. 23 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.

After missing the final two shows, Cronin wrote a note from his hospital bed on FB over the weekend in which he reminisced about the great time on the road with Train this summer and his own future. “Lying here tethered to various beeping machines, makes a guy think. I have had plenty of free time this past week to appreciate the love in the eyes of my wife and kids, as they have gathered around me here every single day. I have so much more life to live, and have re-examined what I want to do with the rest of my time here, and who I want to be surrounded by while I do it,” he said.

“I need to be lifted by those around me, and in return, to lift them. I feel excited at the prospect of creating and playing the best music I have in me, with the best artists, musicians, and people who will have me. And I promise to continue giving my best, and appreciating the gift of music which has allowed me this life.”

REO Speedwagon formed in Champaign, IL in 1967 with an initial lineup featuring lead singer Terry Luttrell and a rotating roster of guitarists, releasing three albums with as many lead vocalists before Cronin joined in time for 1972’s R.E.O./T.W.O. LP; Cronin split before 1973’s Ridin’ the Storm Out album. After sitting out three additional studio albums, Cronin returned for 1976’s R.E.O., which set the stage for their breakthrough with 1978’s punny You Can Tune a Piano but You Can’t Tuna Fish.

The double platinum LP — the first to feature Hall on bass — finally broke them on radio and on the charts, hitting No. 29 on the Billboard 200 album tally and landing their first hit singles with “Time For Me to Fly” (No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100) and “Roll With the Changes” (No. 58). But it was 1980’s High Infidelity that cemented their reputation as AOR radio soft rock gods thanks to Hot 100 charting hits “Keep On Loving You” (No. 1), “Take It on the Run” (No. 5), “In Your Letter” (No. 20) and “Don’t Let Him Go” (No. 24). The band released six more albums, including their final original studio effort, 2007’s Find Your Way Home; the holiday album Not So Silent Night… Christmas with REO Speedwagon was released in 2009.

See the band’s statement below.

Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell has apologized to his bandmates for the ugly scene on Friday in Boston when the vocalist attacked guitarist Dave Navarro during a show.
“This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show,” Farrell said in a statement shared with Billboard.

“Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation,” Farrell, 65, added in the mea culpa that came several days after the shocking scene at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion when the singer attacked Navarro during a performance of “Ocean Size.”

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In fan videos of the moment, an agitated Farrell lunges at Navarro and throws a shoulder into his bandmate before punching the shocked-looking guitarist as the two men are separated and Farrell is dragged backstage.

Navarro, 57, issued a statement on Instagram on Monday morning apologizing to fans for the disturbing scene and for the cancellation of the rest of the reunited band’s U.S. tour. “Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,” Navarro wrote.

“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” he continued. “We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.” The note was signed “our hearts are broken.”

In addition, a source tells Billboard that Farrell is “heartbroken” by his actions. “He realizes that he waited too long to prioritize his well-being. His exhaustion and the toll it has taken on both his physical and mental health has gone too far. He had the best of intentions heading out on tour with the band and feels like he’s let his fans and family down.”

On Saturday, the band issued a statement in an Instagram Story announcing that Sunday night’s planned show in in Bridgeport at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater had been canceled before announcing that the entire tour was scotched.

Shortly after the on-stage blow-up, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, issued a statement about the incident that featured some background on what she said contributed to the meltdown. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a video of the onstage fight. “Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band. Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”

She also noted that backstage Jane’s bassist Eric Avery “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times … Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried. Eric, well he either didn’t understand what descalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”

The beloved alt rock group was formed in Los Angeles in 1985 by Farrell, Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins and released two highly influential studio albums — 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking and 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual — before embarking on their farewell tour as part of 1991’s first Lollapalooza festival. Avery had long been a hold-out in subsequent reunions, replaced by the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea on a 1997 tour and then by Martyn LeNoble and Chris Chaney on subsequent tours. The original four gave it another shot in 2008 for a world tour, though Avery took leave again in 2010 before the release of the band’s fourth studio album, The Great Escape Artist.

Avery was back in the fold again in 2022 and, after Navarro’s absence for two years due to the effects of long COVID, the guitarist was back on stage this year for the North American tour, the first by all four original members in 14 years. The outing launched in early August and was slated to run through mid-October. At press time the future status of the band was unknown.

See Navarro’s statement below.