Back in December, REO Speedwagon bid farewell to an illustrious career with one final show in Las Vegas. Two months earlier, the arena rock legends announced they would cease touring in January 2025. During their final bow, frontman Kevin Cronin vowed to carry on the spirit of REO Speedwagon. However, he is not permitted to do so under the moniker of REO Speedwagon—here’s why.
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Kevin Cronin Is Still “Riding the Storm Out—” Just Not as REO Speedwagon
To be sure, Kevin Cronin’s career is not ending with REO Speedwagon. The lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist made his solo debut Jan. 25 in Thackerville, Oklahoma. He will also tour with Styx and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder as part of the Brotherhood of Rock Tour this summer.
However, Cronin will be doing all of this under his own name, rather than the name of the band he helmed for more than 50 years. And the reason why, he tells Dean Delray on the Let There Be Talk podcast, is complicated.
“We Just Hit a Stalemate”
In November 2023, longtime bassist Bruce Hall took a leave of absence to have back surgery. The band brought in Matt Bissonette, who has played for Elton John and David Lee Roth, to take his place for their Las Vegas residency. However, Hall still retained ownership in REO Speedwagon, along with Kevin Cronin and keyboardist Neal Doughty.
Initially, Hall was supposed to return to touring by March 2024. Doctors pushed back that date several times before the 71-year-old musician decided to sit out the rest of the 2024 tour as long as he was paid in full, Cronin said.
“He said that he’d be ready to come back in 2025,” Cronin said. “But he put these demands in place that — there were a number of demands, but two in particular… one of them it would have been irresponsible for me to go along with, and the other one, it was impossible for me to go along with. And so we just hit a stalemate.”
Ultimately, that stalemate ended in a 2-1 vote to retire the name REO Speedwagon on the touring circuit.
I asked REO Speedwagon’s Bruce Hall if he could resume touring under the name…
— Mitch Lafon (@mitchlafon) December 31, 2024
I love his reply! pic.twitter.com/EBtnmLweOf
“At any rate,” Cronin says, he has no intention to stop performing the songs he wrote for REO Speedwagon, such as “Time For Me to Fly” and “Keep On Loving You.”
“Nobody can stop me from singing these songs, playing these songs and giving the fans what they want,” he said. And if you want the REO Speedwagon experience, there’s only one place you’re gonna get it, and that’s the Kevin Cronin Band.”
Featured image by Larry Marano/Shutterstock
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