Veteran rock drummer Jason Bonham has shared more details about his exit from Sammy Hagar’s The Beast of All Worlds touring band in a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. A few days ago, Bonham revealed in a social-media post that Hagar had decided to move forward with veteran session drummer Kenny Aronoff. Aronoff had replaced Jason near the end of Sammy’s 2024 North American trek when Bonham needed to return home to the U.K. because his mother had suffered a stroke.
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Bonham explained to Ultimate Classic Rock that Hagar phoned him “a while ago” to give him the bad news.
[Buy Jason Bonhams Led Zeppelin Evening Concert Tickets]
“He was asking about my mom, but then he said, ‘Y’know, I’m not gonna do much next year,’ blah, blah blah, ‘and I’m gonna go with Kenny,’” Jason shared. “I was a little shocked, I must say. I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t a little sad, because we were on fire at the end of the tour. And I got a little upset.”
Hagar recently announced that The Best of All Worlds band, which also featured bassist Michael Anthony and guitarist Joe Satriani, will be playing a 2025 Las Vegas residency in April and May. Sammy also teased that he and the group, including Aronoff, are working on some new music.
Bonham Says He Still Loves and Respects Hagar
Bonham began working with Hagar about 10 years ago, first with the Red Rocker’s backing band The Circle, then as part of his The Best of All Worlds Tour. Despite his disappointment about being replaced, Jason said he still has very warm feelings and great respect for Sammy.
[RELATED: Jason Bonham Says Sammy Hagar Will Continue On with Kenny Aronoff as New Drummer]
“Listen, I love the guy to bits,” he told Ultimate Classic Rock. “I don’t wish him any ill. I still speak to him. Honestly, the guy has taught me so much—about business, being positive. I’m an English guy; I can be really negative half the time. Even if the sun is shining, ‘but it could rain.’ He really helped me in that aspect big time, and business sense and never taking no for an answer, always believing in yourself.”
Bonham added, “He allowed me to always do what I wanted to do. When my thing would get busy, he always gave me the space. I couldn’t ask for more.”
When Bonham said “my thing,” he likely was referring to his group Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, the tribute group he launched in 2010. His band kicked off a new U.S. tour on November 19 in Indianapolis. The trek is scheduled through a December 16 concert in Tampa, Florida.
Bonham, of course, is the son of late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Jason also played drums with the legendary British rock band at two of its rare reunion concerts.
Bonham Says His Mother Is “Doing Amazing”
Meanwhile, Bonham shared the happy news that his mother is doing extremely well as she recovers from her stroke.
“Mom is absolutely doing amazing, which is more than I could ever possibly imagine,” Jason told Ultimate Classic Rock. He noted that, at one point, doctors told him to “say goodbye now” to her.
“She is a stubborn, hard-a– woman that suddenly went, ‘I’m OK. I’m gonna be good,’” Bonham said. “It’s still gonna take a lot of rehab and a lot of time to get back to what she was, but the real painful part—she beat that. So she’s fighting on.”
He added, with a laugh, “She’s almost back to normal, almost back to not talking to me. So she must be getting better! She’s gonna be around for a lot longer.”
Bonham’s Other Touring Plans
Bonham told Ultimate Classic Rock that he’ll also be busy touring with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening in 2025.
“[W]e’ve got about 20 in the beginning of the year and 20 at the end of the year, a winter run,” he revealed, “and then bands started to ask me to go open for them on summer tours.”
Bonham also is a member of the hard-rock supergroup Black Country Communion, alongside ex-Deep Purple singer/bassist Glenn Hughes, blues-guitar whiz Joe Bonamassa, and former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian. That band has an eight-date European tour lined up in June 2025.
Jason Bonham Says He's 'A Little Shocked' About Sammy Hagar Split: https://t.co/e7IQvAzYfu
— UltimateClassicRock (@UltClassicRock) November 21, 2024
(Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)
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