Jason Bonham Says Sammy Hagar Will Continue on With Kenny Aronoff as New Drummer

There’s never any shortage of drama in the world of rock music. Sammy Hagar closed out his recent Best Of All Worlds Tour last summer with a supergroup-esque backing band. Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Jason Bonham were all part of the trek, which featured mostly Van Halen material. Sadly, it looks like famed drummer Bonham won’t be continuing on with the Red Rocker. Instead, famed backing band drummer Kenny Aronoff will be continuing on with Hagar.

During the last tour, Bonham was notably absent for the last few concerts, and Aronoff stepped in. According to Bonham, his absence was due to his mother falling ill. Now, it looks like the switch to Aronoff will be a permanent thing.

Jason Bonham Briefly Talks Sammy Hagar and Being Replaced by Kenny Aronoff

In a social media post from Bonham promoting his upcoming Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening Tour, a fan left a comment asking if Bonham will return to the Best Of All Worlds backing band. Jason replied that “Sammy has decided to carry on with Kenny so sadly no.”

It isn’t clear if there is a point of contention between Jason Bonham and Sammy Hagar over the replacement. However, Bonham has talked about how he was so dedicated to performing that he almost didn’t miss those last few shows.

“It was truly difficult to step away from the Best of All Worlds tour with only four shows left,” said Bonham on Instagram a few weeks ago. “The energy, the connections, and the experiences were nothing short of incredible, but my priority had to be with my mother during her fight for life.”

However, judging by Bonham’s choice of words (“Sammy has decided to carry on with Kenny so sadly no”), the decision to replace him permanently with Aronoff may have been up to Hagar, rather than Bonham. Neither rock stars have divulged any more details about the replacement or if there is some drama going on behind the scenes.

Tickets are still available for Bonham’s upcoming tour. Hagar does not have any Best Of All Worlds dates in the mix yet, but he did tease an announcement recently with footage of himself and Anthony in a studio. New music could possibly be in the works.

Photo by Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images

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