REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin wants fans to know he didn’t want the band to end.
The group announced in September that after 2024 they would cease touring; in a new interview with Billboard, Cronin says ending the group wasn’t his decision.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever see this coming,” he told the mag. “I didn’t want to end REO Speedwagon. This is sad, and I would do anything in my power to continue (as) REO Speedwagon. I never quit the band; I never will quit the band. I just got outvoted and … have to stop calling it REO Speedwagon at the end of this year.”
The vote he’s referring to was between the three members with controlling interesting in REO Speedwagon — Cronin; founding member Neal Doughty, who retired from touring in 2023; and bassist Bruce Hall, who joined the band in 1977 and who hasn’t toured with them since November 2023.
Cronin is also upset Hall made comments on social media suggesting he was responsible for the end of the band.
“It’s kind of like a divorce of sorts and during a divorce things get a little muddy and things get a little sticky,” he says. “It’s never thrilling when things are said that are inaccurate and hurtful.”
He adds, “My hope is that there will come a time where the dust will have settled. My intention is to ask forgiveness for anything that I’ve done or any hurt that I have caused Bruce. I don’t like to have grudges with people. I like to forgive and be forgiven.”
REO Speedwagon plays their final show Dec. 21 in Las Vegas. Cronin will head out on the Brotherhood of Rock tour with Styx starting May 28 in Greenville, South Carolina.
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