Returning to the stage for their first official concert performance in over four years, Bon Jovi kicked off their nine-night residency at Madison Square Garden in NYC this past Tuesday night as part of their Bon Jovi Forever Tour. The tour, likely a comeback run as opposed to a promotional tour for a new record, will extend to stadiums in Europe following the conclusion of its New York stint.

After struggling to make it through the band’s 2022 US run, Jon stepped away from the spotlight and sought out much-needed vocal cord surgery, a process that was documented in the critically acclaimed Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. The risky move very well could have spelled the end of his decade’s long tenure as an arena and stadium headliner at age 64, but he was not willing to hang up the cowboy boots just yet.

In the meantime, Jon continued his work organizing and maintaining the four New Jersey locations of his community driven JBJ Soul Kitchen, as well as opening JBJ’s Bar in Nashville. Now a staple of the Nashville hospitality scene, the spot was dubbed the hottest rooftop bar in the city, and, naturally, welcomes working live music acts with open arms.

New York’s opening night saw the band perform 21 songs, several of which with extended instrumentals, with just the omission of 2025’s standalone single “Red White and Jersey” as the sole change made to the set performed at a private warm up show at the CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, MD this past week. A mixture of classic Bon Jovi hits and more recent, late-stage material, the setlist is well-designed and, surprisingly, relatively different from previous runs.

For the first time since February 12, 2008, the band whipped out a cover of the classic Joe Cocker tune “With A Little Help From My Friends” as its opening tune. Jovi’s version is far tamer than that of the erratic Cocker, though he, respectably, did not shy away from high notes within reach of his second passage.

Hits and mainstays like “We Weren’t Born to Follow,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” (originally featuring Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland), “Born To Be My Baby,” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” off a number of classic albums like Slippery When Wet (1986), New Jersey (1988), and Have A Nice Day (2005), made up a bulk of the first third of the set. The euphoric “In These Arms” off 1992’s Keep The Faith, performed sparingly since the early 2010’s, returns here at the midway point and was a general highlight of the evening due to its unifying nature.

More contemporary songs like “Beautiful Drug” off 2020, “Legendary” and “Living Proof” off 2024’s Forever, and even “This House Is Not For Sale” off the 2018 album of the same name were scattered throughout the set and provided Jon with some breathing room. “Beautiful Drug” and “Living Proof,” the latter of which received its live debut, maintain conventional Bon Jovi sonics despite their tempered vocal path.

“Livin’ On A Prayer,” typically reserved for a mandatory crowd sing-along during an encore, was placed at just the 13th song of the night. This tune was, of course, the benchmark for both fans and media alike to truly get a sense of where Jon is at vocally, and the results were, as expected, just fine. He commits to select high notes, such as on “Baby, it’s OKAYYYYYY” in the second verse, though continues to let the band, and the fans, do the heavy lifting for the tough chorus bits, flashing that million-dollar smile with each go-around.

This portion of the set also includes trademarks such as “Have A Nice Day,” “It’s My Life,” and the slightly diluted return of the monster that is “Lay Your Hands on Me,” back on the set for the first time since October 2nd, 2019 and featuring an extended dual solo by percussionist Everett Bradley and drummer Tico Torres, along with David Bryan on organ. The tune is an absolute essential for a Jovi show, along with the underrated The Circle album track “Work for the Working Man” and “Bad Medicine.”

Closing out the standard portion of the set was the aforementioned live debut of “Living Proof,” “This House…,” and “Keep The Faith.” Though not terribly enthralling choices, it does, in fact, lead to a stellar encore portion made up of “I’ll Be There For You,” “Wanted Dead or Alive,”, and “Bad Medicine,” sans its interpolation of Rod Stewart’s “Hot Legs.” “I’ll Be There For You,” was rightly performed as a piano-based rendition of sorts, with the band keeping its dynamics several markings below its usual arrangement. A wise, sustainable move.

Regardless of Jon’s limitations, he refuses to run away, and better yet, the fans at MSG boastfully refused to allow online discourse to make it into the room. He is, still, rather energetic and engaging onstage, offering the crowd, whom he is well-aware are paying premium prices in this day and age for a show they, at one time, paid a fraction of the price for, a night to remember. He may not be 30 anymore, but he’s not dead, either.

Bon Jovi 2026 Tour Dates:
07/12 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/14 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/16 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/19 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/21 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/23 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
07/26 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/28 – Edinburgh, UK @ Murrayfield Stadium
08/30 – Dublin, IE @ Croke Park
09/04 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/06 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium
09/09 – London, UK @ Wembley Stadium