A classic rock band is shedding light on the secret to its longevity.

Cheap Trick released its 21st studio album in 2025 and recently marked 50 years of performing together. In fact, the core trio of singer Robin Zander, guitarist Rick Nielsen and bassist Tom Petersson have been in the group almost non-stop since 1974.

“In my opinion, it’s because we were never friends. We were never close, so we never pissed in each other’s backyard,” Zander said in a new interview with Louder. “We still don’t socialize much outside of touring and recording. It was musical glue that held us together. We have a lot of respect for each other musically.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band recently announced its 2026 tour dates, including an April 4 concert in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and two special shows in Las Vegas where they’ll play the 1978 album, “Cheap Trick at Budokan,” in its entirety. Zander said their live shows are still thrilling because they mix up the songs they play.

“…Keeping it fresh can be hard, because some of the guys in the band have an idea that you’ve got to play the hits and do what the crowd wants to hear. And I’ve always been the opposite of that. I’ve always thought: ‘Let’s turn them on to some Cheap Trick music that they don’t know we do, and see what happens,’” Zander told Louder. “But we work it out. Every night we try to work out a different setlist.”

Cheap Trick played a 75-minute set at the New York State Fair last year that included a mix of new tracks like 2021’s “Light Up the Fire,” deeper cuts like “He’s a Whore,” and mega hits “The Flame,” “I Want You to Want Me,” “Dream Police” and “Surrender.”

The lineup included Rick’s son, 45-year-old Daxx Nielsen, on drums. Daxx replaced original drummer Bun E. Carlos in 2010 and has played on Cheap Trick’s last five albums.

The band remains beloved for its mix of rock, power-pop and a wide variety of covers (including songs by Fats Domino, The Move, Elvis Presley, the Velvet Underground and Big Star’s “In the Street” for “That ‘70s Show”). Cheap Trick has sold more than 20 million records and was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.