Jon Bon Jovi looked like he’d barely aged since the band’s 1980s and ’90s heyday as he attended the premiere of a new docuseries at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
The 62-year-old rocker was joined by the rest of his self-titled band Bon Jovi to watch a screening of Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
The four-part Hulu series, which debuts April 26, features interviews with the bandmates and charts the legendary group’s ups and downs and continued success.
Jon Bon Jovi (real name: John Bongiovi) graced the festival shortly after sharing an update on his relationship with former Bon Jovi member Richie Sambora.
The frontman admitted to Ultimate Classic Rock that he and the guitarist are ‘not in touch’ anymore now that Sambora is officially out of the band, although last year Sambora said he hoped to start a reunion with the older lineup.
Jon Bon Jovi looked like he’d barely aged since the band’s 1980s and ’90s heyday as he attended the premiere of a new docuseries at the South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas
The 62-year-old rocker was joined by the rest of his self-titled band Bon Jovi to watch a screening of Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story. It comes after he revealed that he and ex-guitarist Richie Sambora are no longer on speaking terms; seen in 2013
Jon’s hair may have been considerably grayer than it used to be, but he still sported an impressively thick head of it when he arrived on the red carpet.
He wore a simple black shirt and slim matching trousers that accentuated his fit, and he contrasted the dark look with a cool cream leather motorcycle jacket.
The singer-songwriter wore chunky black shoes with vibrant red soles and looked too cool for school with a set of aviator sunglasses.
The premiere was a family affair and he brought along members of the current Bon Jovi lineup.
Keyboard player David Bryan rocked out in a black leather and denim jacket with matching T-shirt and jeans.
He wore thick sunglasses and had long, frizzy hair that would have been appropriate back in the 1980s.
Drummer Tico Torres kept things casual in a black button down jacket and matching black pants.
Phil X, who took over guitar duties after Richie Sambora’s exit, wore a skinny black suit and pin-striped vest with ragged black trousers and matching boots.
Multi-instrumentalist Everett Bradley looked dapper in a cool sports coat.
Jon’s hair may be grayer than it used to be, but he still had an impressively thick head when he hit the red carpet. He wore a black shirt and slim matching trousers which accentuated his fit and he contrasted the dark look with a cool cream leather motorcycle jacket
Keyboard player David Bryan rocked out in a black leather and denim jacket with matching T-shirt and jeans
He wore thick sunglasses and had long curly hair that would have been appropriate back in the 1980s
Drummer Tico Torres kept things casual in a black button down jacket and matching black pants
Phil X, who took over guitar duties after Richie Sambora’s exit, wore a skinny black suit and pin-striped vest with ragged black trousers and matching boots
Multi-instrumentalist Everett Bradley looked dapper in a cool sports coat
They were also joined by John Shanks (second left), who plays guitar. He stood out in a gray jacket
Bassist Hugh McDonald (third left) looked cool in a black leather biker jacket
Bon Jovi revealed he is ‘not in touch’ with Richie Sambora in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock
They were also joined by John Shanks, who plays guitar. He stood out in a gray jacket.
Bassist Hugh McDonald looked cool in a black leather biker jacket.
The premiere comes after Bon Jovi cleaned up his relationship with one of his former close collaborators, Richie Sambora.
He handled the majority of lead guitar duties from the band’s inception in 1983 until he abruptly left the group just before a show on their 2013 tour, reportedly to spend more time with his family.
But even 11 years after the tumultuous event, Bon Jovi is still not on speaking terms with Sambora.
“We’re not in touch because he’s not in the organization anymore,” the singer explained to Ultimate Classic Rock.
‘That doesn’t mean there’s no love forever,’ he quickly clarified, ‘but it’s been 11 years since he just stopped showing up.
‘And there were emotional issues that he dealt with as a single father and there were substance abuse issues that you know…’ he added, trailing off.
Sambora left the band with little explanation just before a show on April 2, 2013 in Calgary, Canada.
In the end, it came down to a matter of reliability, which he illustrated with a comparison to Richie’s successor, guitarist Phil X.
‘Phil X was going to show up once, and then Phil X was going to show up another time. And then again, there is a show that night. What should we do?’
The lead singer also clarified that he and Sambora did not communicate at all about the upcoming docuseries.
‘Doesn’t mean there’s no love forever’, he quickly clarified, ‘but it’s been 11 years since he just didn’t show up anymore’; seen in 2011
“And there were emotional issues that he dealt with as a single father, and there were substance abuse issues that you know…” he added, trailing off; pictured in 2009
Bon Jovi added that neither spoke to each other for the documentaries nor filmed interviews together, and he claimed that they did not pull strings with the director; pictured in 2009
“Not a word,” he said. ‘This was no puff piece and this was no bulls***. It is not us behind the scenes who pull the strings. Oh, no, no, no, he declared. ‘They interviewed Richie in London. I was not there. I had nothing to do with it. No, I still haven’t seen the (finished) product.’
Despite the previous conflict with his former bandmate, Bon Jovi still loves playing music with his longtime band.
“What matters to me anymore is just being here with my friends, writing the song I want to write, living the life I want to live,” he continued.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story premieres April 26 on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally.