Bruce Hall confirmed months ago that he was healthy enough following November 2023 back surgery to return to touring with REO Speedwagon – but there was one issue: “The consensus feeling is that I don’t have good enough posture to perform at the level expected by our fans.”
Fill-in former Elton John sideman Matt Bissonette continues as the group’s touring bassist behind long-standing frontman Kevin Cronin. Ongoing summer dates with Train are now wrapping up, with the final show set for Sept. 11 in Phoenix, Arizona.
“It was my intention to be back on the road again by now, for sure,” added Hall, who joined REO just before 1978’s breakthrough You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tuna Fish. “I’m feeling better every day and have been cleared by my doctor to perform. If it were up to just me, I’d be there rocking tonight … but it’s unfortunately not.”
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Cronin assured fans last November that Hall would return to the lineup as soon as possible. “Bruce is our brother – and times like these test us all,” Cronin said. “We have faith that Bruce’s surgery will be successful, that he will make a complete recovery, and that he will be back to being the hard-rocking bassist/singer that we all know.”
Now Hall’s daughter is asking why it hasn’t happened yet: “My dad has poured his entire life into his craft and this band,” Sara Siders says in a social media post, “just to be told he can’t play or be on stage anymore because of how tall he can stand? What a joke.”
Is Bruce Hall Retiring From REO Speedwagon?
Cronin is now the last remaining classic-era member of the group after co-founding keyboardist Neal Doughty left the road in 2023. The other members joined in the late ’80s. Derek Hilland is touring in Doughty’s place following concert appearances with Whitesnake and Foreigner.
“Trust me, I have no intention of retiring or walking away from the band I have loved for almost 50 years,” Hall said in his June social media post. “I would never ever walk away. I love my band too much. I love our crew. I love all of you, the best fans of all time, so very much.”
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
