Bon Jovi Triumph at 2026 Tour Kickoff: Setlist + Video

Bon Jovi made their long-awaited return to the stage on Tuesday with their first of 9 sold-out exhibits at New York’s Madison Sq. Backyard, marking their first public, large-scale live shows since 2022 — and because the band’s titular frontman underwent vocal wire surgical procedure.

The momentousness of the event was misplaced on no one. “Can we bought it anymore?” Jon Bon Jovi requested the viewers in the course of the country-rock stomper “Complete Lot of Leavin’.” Their affirmative roar informed him all the things he wanted to know.

You possibly can see the band’s full 21-song set checklist and video from the efficiency beneath.

READ MORE: Bon Jovi Albums Ranked Worst to Finest

New Anthems Meet Traditional Hits at Bon Jovi’s Comeback Present

Following a short pre-recorded video message, Bon Jovi took the stage with a rousing rendition of the Beatles’ “With a Little Assist From My Buddies” within the fashion of Joe Cocker. The band took the message to coronary heart, supporting their chief with hovering vocal harmonies as Bon Jovi powered by means of the melody. After warming up within the first half, he let free a sequence of excessive notes that made it clear simply how critically he is been taking his vocal rehabilitation.

The primary half of Bon Jovi’s set drew closely from their twenty first century output, together with mid-aughts hits “Who Says You Cannot Go House” and “Misplaced Freeway” together with newer cuts akin to 2020‘s “Stunning Drug” and Endlessly‘s “Legendary.” These songs suited Bon Jovi’s present vocal vary finest and allowed the frontman to ease again into the swing of issues. Not that he wanted a lot assist — he was shortly bounding throughout the stage, stomping his foot and main the gang in spirited singalongs.

Watch Bon Jovi Play ‘With a Little Assist From My Buddies’ on July 7, 2026

Nonetheless, it was clearly the band’s traditional hits that earned the most rapturous reception. The one-two punch of “You Give Love a Unhealthy Identify” and “Born to Be My Child” kicked the present into overdrive, whereas a late-set run of “It is My Life,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Lay Your Palms on Me” and “Blood on Blood” left the gang feral. A sprawling rendition of “Preserve the Religion” ended the common set, adopted by a knockout three-song encore of “I am going to Be There for You,” “Needed Lifeless or Alive” and “Unhealthy Drugs.”

Maybe most surprisingly, the band even carried out “In These Arms,” the skyscraping energy ballad off 1992’s Preserve the Religion. Regardless of enjoying it in a significantly decrease tuning than the unique recording, it was a stirring efficiency that confirmed Bon Jovi’s dedication to returning to his former glory.

Watch Bon Jovi Play ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ at Madison Sq. Backyard – July 7, 2026

So … How Did Jon Bon Jovi Sound?

The lead-up to Bon Jovi’s Madison Sq. Backyard comeback has been heavy with anticipation — and fear. When the frontman first went public together with his vocal well being points in 2024, he insisted he would not return to the stage till he was prepared, proclaiming, “If I can not be nice, I am out.” Would he maintain his promise?

He did. Bon Jovi sounded leaps and bounds higher on Tuesday than he did on the finish of the band’s 2022 tour, articulating his notes higher and enunciating his lyrics extra clearly. Backed by his bandmates’ masterful harmonies, he felt emboldened to succeed in for extra excessive notes, and when he did not, he might rely the viewers to select up the slack, glad to indulge him in as many singalongs as he wished.

“I have never heard the roar of a crowd in 4 years and I did not know if I’d bear in mind what that was like,” the singer confessed earlier than telling the viewers he was “grateful and humbled by this complete ordeal.” He referred to the 20,000 followers in attendance as his “private, non-public visitors as a result of they’re coming right here to offer love and to help us. I am simply truthfully grateful.”

It wasn’t good — that was by no means the objective. However on Tuesday, Jon Bon Jovi proved he is able to get again within the ring, and he reminded Madison Sq. Backyard why he belongs there within the first place. For the previous 4 years, he and his bandmates saved the religion. Now they’re placing it into motion.

Bon Jovi – July 7, 2026, Madison Sq. Backyard Set Listing

1. “With a Little Assist From My Buddies”
2. “Stunning Drug”
3. “We Weren’t Born to Comply with”
4. “Misplaced Freeway”
5. “Who Says You Cannot Go House”
6. “You Give Love a Unhealthy Identify”
7. “Born to Be My Child”
8. “Legendary”
9. “Complete Lot of Leavin'”
10. “In These Arms”
11. “Have a Good Day”
12. “It is My Life”
13. “Livin’ on a Prayer”
14. “Lay Your Palms on Me”
15. “Blood on Blood”
16. “Dwelling Proof”
17. “This Home Is Not for Sale”
18. “Preserve the Religion”
Encore
19. “I am going to Be There for You”
20. “Needed Lifeless or Alive”
21. “Unhealthy Drugs”