{"id":694112,"date":"2026-07-16T03:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694112\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T03:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T03:18:12","slug":"bon-jovi-returns-to-rock-at-madison-square-garden-after-4-year-performance-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/694112\/","title":{"rendered":"Bon Jovi Returns To Rock At Madison Square Garden After 4-Year Performance Hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" top-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784171892_824_0x0.jpg\" alt=\"Bon Jovi: Forever Tour Kick Off - New York\" data-height=\"2218\" data-width=\"2989\" fetchpriority=\"high\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0\"\/><\/p>\n<p>NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; JULY 07: (Exclusive Coverage) Bon Jovi performs onstage at the Forever Tour Kick Off &#8211; New York at Madison Square Garden on July 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Bon Jovi)<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images for Bon Jovi<\/p>\n<p>One could sense from his spoken-word banter to his performance with his namesake band at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night that Jon Bon Jovi was grateful to be back on stage. In 2022, the singer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2026\/jul\/10\/bon-jovi-review-return-to-the-stage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/music\/2026\/jul\/10\/bon-jovi-review-return-to-the-stage\" aria-label=\"underwent vocal cord surgery\">underwent vocal cord surgery<\/a>, putting Bon Jovi on hiatus from the road for four years, which seems like a lifetime to a band that had been consistently touring in a career now spanning more than four decades. <\/p>\n<p>Last week, Bon Jovi returned in a major way for the first of nine shows at the Garden as part of their Forever tour, to be followed later with dates in the U.K. and Ireland. Tuesday\u2019s show was Night Four of the New Jersey band\u2019s residency at the World\u2019s Most Famous Arena, and it ticked all the boxes from song selection to the band\u2019s heartfelt performances. <\/p>\n<p>The concert kicked off with an unlikely yet stirring cover of the Beatles\u2019 \u201cWith a Little Help From My Friends,\u201d rendered in the guitar-charged interpretation made famous by Joe Cocker. Symbolically, the inclusion of the song in the setlist appeared to be a thank-you from Jon Bon Jovi to his bandmates and fans for their support as he was recovering from vocal surgery.<\/p>\n<p>NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; JULY 07: (Exclusive Coverage) Tico Torres, John Shanks, Jon Bon Jovi, David Bryan, Everett Bradley and Phil X attend the Forever Tour Kick Off &#8211; New York at Madison Square Garden on July 07, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo\/Getty Images for Bon Jovi)<\/p>\n<p>Getty Images for Bon Jovi<\/p>\n<p>From there, it was mostly hits and favorites from Bon Jovi\u2019s enduring catalog. Especially in light of the band\u2019s recent comeback, the songs \u2014 which always spoke and rooted for the underdog \u2014 took on greater significance. That was especially true of anthemic tracks like \u201cIt\u2019s My Life,\u201d \u201cHave a Nice Day,\u201d \u201cThis House Is Not for Sale\u201d and \u201cKeep the Faith.\u201d Even a power ballad like \u201cBed of Roses\u201d conveyed a sense of poignancy appropriate for the occasion. <\/p>\n<p>Naturally, the songs that evoked the strongest emotions from the packed audience came during Bon Jovi\u2019s performances of \u201cYou Give Love a Bad Name\u201d and \u201cLivin\u2019 on a Prayer,\u201d both off of 1986\u2019s Slippery When Wet, the album that made the band household names. With the crowd joyously singing to every word in those songs, Jon Bon Jovi could have just sat out and let them handle the vocals for him. Those songs provided a nostalgic flashback to the \u201880s era of big hair, ripped jeans and denim jackets. <\/p>\n<p>The band\u2019s encore didn\u2019t disappoint either, as it consisted mostly of big faves, including the classic cowboy anthem \u201cWanted Dead or Alive,\u201d the power ballad \u201cI\u2019ll Be There for You\u201d and the pile-driving rocker \u201cBad Medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Post-surgery, Jon Bon Jovi was in good voice throughout the two-hour set, augmented by solid turns from his bandmates. The Madison Square Garden residency confirmed that the band was back in form and ready to rock once again. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.setlist.fm\/setlist\/bon-jovi\/2026\/madison-square-garden-new-york-ny-234e189f.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:https:\/\/www.setlist.fm\/setlist\/bon-jovi\/2026\/madison-square-garden-new-york-ny-234e189f.html\" aria-label=\"Setlist\">Setlist<\/a><\/p>\n<p>With a Little Help From My Friends<\/p>\n<p>Beautiful Drug<\/p>\n<p>We Weren&#8217;t Born to Follow<\/p>\n<p>Lost Highway<\/p>\n<p>Who Says You Can&#8217;t Go Home<\/p>\n<p>You Give Love a Bad Name<\/p>\n<p>Born to Be My Baby<\/p>\n<p>Legendary<\/p>\n<p>Whole Lot of Leavin&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Bed of Roses<\/p>\n<p>Have a Nice Day<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s My Life<\/p>\n<p>Livin&#8217; on a Prayer<\/p>\n<p>Lay Your Hands on Me<\/p>\n<p>Living Proof<\/p>\n<p>This House Is Not for Sale<\/p>\n<p>Keep the Faith<\/p>\n<p>Encore 1:<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll Be There for You<\/p>\n<p>Red, White and Jersey<\/p>\n<p>Wanted Dead or Alive<\/p>\n<p>Bad Medicine<\/p>\n<p>Encore 2:<\/p>\n<p>Always<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, NEW YORK &#8211; JULY 07: (Exclusive Coverage) Bon Jovi performs onstage at the Forever Tour Kick&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694113,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[230908,96,68559,215158,128,230909,7845,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-694112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-bon-jovi-returns-to-rock-at-madison-square-garden","tag-entertainment","tag-jon-bon-jovi","tag-madison-square-garden","tag-music","tag-slippery-when-wet","tag-tour","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694112"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694112\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}