Page 25 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 113

BV113 pg 22-25 Bon Jovi.qxp_BV113 pg 25 03/12/2025 23:31 Page 4

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 25
ence, and 16 albums in, I can write it down now. the new one, and still be here standing, some of hits.”
I look up from the disguise and I say, ‘I am the 40+ years later, is quite a thrill and it’s humbling But now, when Bon Jovi return to the stage,
hollow man. Fill me up. Give me the information, and I’m grateful. And, that joy that we get to Jon is looking to hold and share the light. His
lord. Here I am. I’m the hollow man. Am I nothing share with each other and the audience is un- passion to perform has become a desire to bring
more than a cheap bouquet of flowers and a believable.” the light and to pass it on.
one-man band?’ and the answer was no. “If I,
There’s a hell of a lot more.” metaphorically
speaking, get to
on mentioned his family briefly, writing ‘I hold the light, the
JWrote You A Song’ for his wife, Dorothea. band power the
Dorothea was the co-founder of the Soul light, the audience
Kitchen, which is a nonprofit organisation set up get the beam of
by Jon and his wife to provide meals for the that light, and I get
homeless and others in the local community. It to stand in the re-
originally stemmed from The JBJ Soul Founda- flection of that
tion, which was founded to provide affordable light… if we get to
housing in a bid to help the homeless. share light, that
Jon explains, “It’s 20 years ago now that I will bring me the
started this foundation. I used to own a sports joy. I’m not chas-
team in America and we wanted to ingratiate ing the new pop
ourselves to the community until we really re- act, our legacy is
alised that we should be more philanthropic than what it is. To me, it
most. When we found focus, it was in the issue is truly about grat-
of homelessness, and so we started to build af- itude and joy, and
fordable housing. Then something in America this amazing cata-
happened in 2008 called the economic down- logue of music
turn, and Dorothea, in a stream of conscious- that a lot of people
ness, one day, said, ‘Now you have to feed embraced.”
those people that you housed. I have an idea for And while the
a restaurant and it would go like this…’ and she ‘Forever’ shows
developed a pilot. We opened our first Soul are happening in
Kitchen probably 13/14 years ago now. And 2026, Jon says,
now, subsequently, we have four. So, she cre- “I’m not thinking
ated a model of a restaurant that really didn’t about the future
exist anywhere, empowering people who are in and the outcome,
need, having them volunteer, and, if you want to I’m really just
come and effect change directly, there’s a sug- being right here,
gested donation, which covers your meal and right now. That’s
someone else’s. If you come, there are no prices He's asked if he has thought about a setlist all that I care about. The rest of it, if it happens,
on the menu. It’s all farm to table, it’s all fresh. for the 2026 shows yet. great. But, it’s not about numbers and tomor-
We take no government subsidies. No one tells “The thing is, I do think of a setlist,” he rows. It’s about being here now.”
us what to do, and we made an impact. And replies, “because, like I told you, I’m not kidding, There was a moment when some fans had
then, we put two of them in universities, because I really have rock shows at my house four times been worried that Bon Jovi may not appear back
we realised, many on a live stage, but that worry has been well and
years ago, that truly squashed.
even kids in Jon says, adamantly, “You were wrong!”
school don’t have There aren’t many times when we like being
pocket change for wrong, but this is one of them. And so, now, we
food. And so, now, can look forward to the light and be grateful that
we have four of the joy of a Bon Jovi live show will soon be with
these, and we un- us once again.
derride any of the
shortfall. It’s just Visit www.bonjovi.com and catch Bon Jovi
something that we on tour in 2026.
feel we don’t need
scientists to find a Bon Jovi Forever Tour Dates
cure, we can feed July 7 - Madison Square Garden, New York
people.” July 9 - Madison Square Garden, New York
July 12 - Madison Square Garden, New York
024 was July 14 - Madison Square Garden, New York
2the 40th July 16 - Madison Square Garden, New York
anniversary of July 19 - Madison Square Garden, New York
Bon Jovi’s debut July 21 - Madison Square Garden, New York
album, and, while July 23 - Madison Square Garden, New York
some bands are July 26 - Madison Square Garden, New York
finding it harder August 28 - Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium,
than ever to tour Edinburgh
overseas, Bon August 30 - Croke Park, Dublin
Jovi’s ticket sales September 4 - Wembley Stadium, London
show no signs of September 6 - Wembley Stadium, London
declining. Jon September 9 - Wembley Stadium, London.
says, “To think
that some kid in a
bar band in New Words By Shari Black Velvet
Jersey closed the
old Wembley Sta-
dium that we all know and loved so much, a week,” he laughs. “So, I have a number of Band Photo By Mark Seliger
whether it was from Live Aid or some of the fa- them. And, the beautiful thing is, this catalogue
mous shows that were here, and then, to come is so deep, there can be multiple nights and not JBJ ‘In Conversation’ Photos By Shari Black Velvet
back and be the guy that was supposed to open a repetition of songs and it’s still chock-a-block
BON JOVI