Features
Bon Jovi Says He Didn’t Want To Disappoint Vancouver Fans
Jon Bon Jovi says he rebooked a canceled Vancouver show at a new venue because there was no way he was going to disappoint fans in the city he called home for six years.
The rock star performed at Rogers Arena Saturday night with Kings of Suburbia after complications with a promoter forced the cancellation of their performance in Stanley Park.
Photo: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP
Smiles during media interviews in Vancouver, British Columbia.
He told reporters Saturday that he’s never experienced anything like the mess in Vancouver, which saw promoter Paper Rain Performances file for bankruptcy this week.
The city of Vancouver said earlier this week that Paper Rain did not have the required permits for Bon Jovi to perform at Stanley Park.
Although he says he wasn’t involved in the circumstances that led to the show’s cancellation, Bon Jovi has apologized to fans for the turmoil and says integrity matters to him.
His show in Vancouver is a homecoming of sorts. He recorded three albums including the smash hit Slippery When Wet while living in the city between 1986 and 1992.
Bon Jovi says he has fond memories of the city and he hopes fans treat Saturday’s show like a big block party.
The New Jersey rocker has something of a following in Canada. Two years ago, Bon Jovi’s band was the first inducted into Toronto’s Air Canada Centre Hall of Fame after playing a record 17 shows there since the arena opened in 1999. His band has played almost 30 times at various other venues in Canada’s largest city.
Saturday’s show comes a day after Bon Jovi’s band released an album called Burning Bridges, the first without guitarist Richie Sambora.