“I’m gonna have to cool it for a night,” the ‘Livin’ On a Prayer’ singer told the crowd at his Madison Square Garden Show on Thursday, July 23
Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- Jon Bon Jovi abruptly ended his Madison Square Garden concert on Thursday, July 23, promising fans he would reschedule the show
- The Forever Tour marks Bon Jovi’s return to performing after vocal surgery and a four-year hiatus
- Bon Jovi recently spoke to PEOPLE about recovering from a vocal cord condition that threatened his future tour plans
Jon Bon Jovi suddenly ended his concert on Thursday, July 23.
Bon Jovi, 64, abruptly ended the eighth show on his Forever Tour after 90 minutes, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During the show, the Grammy winner was joined by Train frontman Pat Monahan to perform his 1986 hit “Livin’ On a Prayer.”
“Don’t throw away your ticket stubs I’m going to figure something out okay, don’t [fear],” Bon Jovi told the audience, who applauded. “Just hang onto it, I’m going to figure out how to reschedule.”
“I’m gonna have to cool it for a night,” he added, before exiting the stage. “I feel great, I’ll see you again soon, bye bye.”
“Jon Bon Jovi spoke from stage and told fans he has been battling a sinus infection which led to the show’s early ending,” a rep for Bon Jovi tells PEOPLE. “As part of the Bon Jovi residency at Madison Square Garden, Jon has said numerous times that it has been a joy to return to live shows for the band. Updated information will be available shortly.”
Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty
The nine sold-out MSG shows mark the “You Give Love A Bad Name” singer’s return to the stage four years after having vocal surgery. Bon Jovi has been joined onstage by fellow original members Tico Torres and David Bryan, along with Hugh McDonald, John Shanks, Phil X and Everett Bradley for a setlist that includes the New Jersey-based rock band’s greatest hits.
In 2024, he told PEOPLE that he was unsure if he would be able to return to the rigor of live performance following the surgery.
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After Bon Jovi’s last tour ended in 2022, he underwent a vocal cord medialization to fix the damaged cord.
“I’d often joked and said the only thing that’s ever been up my nose was my finger,” he told PEOPLE for his recent cover story in June. “I never did anything to hurt the cords; I didn’t have any excesses. I’m a trained vocalist. I’ve practiced the craft.”
The “Wanted Dead or Alive” singer said a doctor told him the cord was “atrophying.”
“I’m fully recovered,” he said, noting that the surgery was successful. “It was longer than I’d ever expected, but it had to be right. We never lost faith.”
Bon Jovi, formed in New Jersey in 1983, made a name for themselves with a string of glam rock hits throughout the 1980s, reaching international fame for their 1986 album Slippery When Wet, which featured “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name.” The band proceeded to once again achieve a smash hit with their anthemic 2000 song “It’s My Life.”
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