REO Speedwagon is slamming on the brakes: The rock band will halt touring amid the group’s “irreconcilable differences.”
The “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Keep on Loving You” group announced Monday that itwould retire from the road on Jan. 1 because of bassist Bruce Hall’s back issues and lead singer Kevin Cronin’s recent departure from the band after emergency surgery. When Hall stepped away to have back surgery in November, bassist and vocalist Matt Bissonette, who has played with the David Lee Roth Band, Ringo Starr and the Roundheads, and Electric Light Orchestra, stepped in. Hall later said that touring was a challenge because of problems with his posture.
“Bruce [Hall] 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,” the band said in a statement posted on its social media. “The consensus opinion was that he had not recovered sufficiently to be able to perform at the level the fans have come to expect. Bruce respected that opinion and is grateful that 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.”
In addition to Hall, 71, and Cronin, 72, the Grammy-nominated group currently includes original member and keyboardist Neal Doughty, 78, guitarist Dave Amato, 71, and drummer Bryan Hitt, 70. The group, which formed in Illinois in the late 1960s, was co-founded by Doughty — who announced his plans to retire in 2023 — and drummer Alan Gratzer, who left the group in 1988.
They were first joined by vocalist and guitarist Joe Matt and bassist Mike Blair, but the band has had a revolving door of members over the last five decades. Cronin joined the group in 1972, and Hall joined in 1977 ahead of the release of the band’s 1978 breakthrough album, “You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish” and the bestselling 1980 album “Hi Infidelity.”
The REO Speedwagon statement also said that Cronin “never had any intention of leaving the band” either because “the fans and crew mean the world to him, as well.” Last week, Cronin announced that he had to have emergency surgery, but he promised to be “up and rockin’” as soon as his doctors clear him to do so. (“Until then, I am 100% focused on recuperating,” he wrote Saturday on the band’s website.)
But his promise appeared to be short-lived, given the group‘s take on its current state of affairs, which included this explanation:
“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,” the statement said. “Neal, 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.”
REO Speedwagon is scheduled to resume performances this fall, starting with a tour show in Rancho Mirage on Sept. 27 and concluding with a Nov. 23 show in Lexington, Ky., according to the band’s website. It is unclear whether someone else will be filling in for Cronin.
REO Speedwagon wrapped its co-headlining Summer Road Trip tour with pop-rock band Train last week after being forced to back out of the final shows in Chula Vista on Sept. 10 and Phoenix on Sept. 11 due to Cronin’s illness. Cronin said Saturday that “2024 has been equally joyful and challenging, and although I didn’t quite make it to the finish line, I have loved the journey. The Summer Road Trip with Train and REO Speedwagon was a courageous idea and an amazing success story.”
Train opened the final two shows of the tour with REO Speedwagon’s “Keep on Loving You”; Yacht Rock Revue, which was on hand for the final dates, covered REO’s “Roll With the Changes” in its set.
