Four years after surgery for a strained vocal cord prompted Jon Bon Jovi to take a break from touring, the singer says he’s ready to hit the road for Bon Jovi’s upcoming Forever tour. “I’m fully recovered,” he recently told People. “It was longer than I’d ever expected, but it had to be right. We never lost faith.”

Bon Jovi also had complimentary words for his bandmates, whose patience he praised. “They never doubted [me] and never looked for work or decided to retire,” he told the magazine. “The sacrifices that each one of them have made to be there for me is on a whole ‘nother level. They said, ‘No, we’re with you.’ Every day of every rehearsal they were there with me. My love for them has only deepened.”

The singe told People that taking a break helped him to start “living in the today,” and that by being more consciously present he’s more appreciative of family, including his grandchildren, and even meeting strangers and playing tennis with them at his Palm Beach, Florida residence. But now he’s prepared to kick off Forever with a residency at Madison Square Garden beginning July 7. Bon Jovi will head to the U.K. and Ireland later this summer.

“I think that this is a rebirth,” Bon Jovi told People. “It is simply about the joy.”

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Bon Jovi’s last big run of concerts ended in 2022, though they played four dates in 2024. Since then they’ve done only a few, usually short sets, and Jon Bon Jovi has appeared solo for one-off performances. The group’s tour and Jon’s salubrity will allow the band to celebrate Forever, their 2024 album, finally.

“There is a lot of joy in this announcement — joy that we can share these nights together with our amazing fans and joy that the band can be together,” Jon Bon Jovi stated at the time. “I am lucky enough to be able to hold a light out to the audience each night and stand in their reflection for a tremendous collective experience — I get to stand in the WE of our concerts.”