Bon Jovi Plays Surprise Club Show in Nashville

Bon Jovi played a surprise club show in Nashville on Friday, June 7 during the grand opening of JBJ's, a new bar and restaurant in Music City owned by Jon Bon Jovi.

Per Setlist.fm, the surprise show only had a five-song setlist, which managed to feature classic hits and deep cuts. The mini-set kicked off with "Blood on Blood" from the 1988 Bon Jovi album New Jersey. That was followed by "We Weren't Born to Follow" off of 2009's The Circle. Next was the Slippery When Wet hit "You Give Love a Bad Name," followed by the New Jersey hit "Born to Be My Baby." Bon Jovi then closed the set with "Legendary" off of the band's latest album Forever.

The performance is significant news, considering his ongoing vocal issues stemming from his continued recovery from vocal cord surgery. As for what JBJ sounded like, Ultimate Classic Rock noted he "appeared pitchy by strong." Despite his voice gaining strength, Jon told The Guardian that a tour to support the new album Forever just isn't in the cards.

"I’m more than capable of singing again," said Bon Jovi. "The bar is now: can I do two and a half hours a night, four nights a week? The answer is no."

Despite that unfortunate news, it still sounds like JBJ isn't throwing in the towel just yet. Here's hoping his recovery will continue.

The brief video clip above shows that JBJ's is decked out in many photos and artifacts from the 40+ year history of Bon Jovi. The bar/restaurant's website states, "Renowned as a singer, songwriter, musician, actor, restaurateur, and philanthropist, Jon has always been drawn to the lyrical tales of Music City." 

The website further notes that JBJ's "will be the premier destination for music, dining, and entertainment with its five-story venue, complete with two rooftop spaces, promises an unforgettable experience at the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue."

As for the food and drink menu, patrons can expect a "unique menu inspired by Bon Jovi's roots in Jersey and Nashville" including a selection of appetizers, salads, burgers/sandwiches and more. While the food menu doesn't boast fun Bon Jovi-themed items, the drink menu is filled with them. Cocktails include the whiskey-based "Tommy," the gin-based "Gina," the tequila-based "Bad Medicine" and, of course, Hampton Water Frosé, which is a slushie drink of the rosé brand owned by Jon Bon Jovi and his son, Jesse.

Bon Jovi has been active for over four decades, and they aren't showing signs of slowing down.

Their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame career has netted them over 130 million albums sold worldwide and legions of fans spanning generations.

Narrowing down their catalog to a select number of songs and ranking them is a daunting task, but here are Bon Jovi's 35 best songs, ranked.

A new docuseries about Bon Jovi is set to premiere on Hulu on April 26. The docuseries is titled Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.

The docuseries also has the cooperation of all Bon Jovi members, both past and present. A teaser trailer of the docuseries offers a supercut of the band's wild career, including the exit of guitarist Richie Sambora.

Additionally, the teaser trailer shows Jon Bon Jovi in a hospital bed. He's holding a dry-erase board that simply says, "I'm good." Meanwhile, an unidentified voiceover says, "Jon's going through his challenges." It then cuts to JBJ saying, "It almost killed us."

The "challenges" appear to be about Bon Jovi's recent vocal issues, which he discussed during the Pollstar Live! conference in February 2024.

Per Ultimate Classic Rock, Bon Jovi said, "It's become public knowledge now, but I've had major reconstructive surgery in my vocal cords, and I never had anything like this, ever. So it's been a difficult road, but I found a doctor in Philadelphia who did something called a medialization, because one of my cords was literally atrophied."

A description of Thank You, Goodnight from Hulu also promises it will delve into the band's "most public moments of friction." Of course, this is likely a reference to the 2013 exit of Sambora, who has often talked about the potential of rejoining the band.