REO Speedwagon bassist Bruce Hall addressed the current state of the band in a recent interview. The band decided to stop touring earlier in 2025 following a reported disagreement with frontman Kevin Cronin. Hall revealed that there have been promising developments between the members. This sparked hope for one last performance to thank the fans.
“So, I left for a while and things changed. Let’s put it that way. They got a substitute guy in there. And it became a problem. Became a big problem actually. But I can’t really talk about it too much because there’s lawyers and stuff involved. But anyway, the band kind of blew up. There’s details I can’t tell you,” Hall said.
“But anyway, things went down and then I think what’s happening is there’s been some new reconsiderations happening,” he continued. “Well, for one, there was some friends back in Champaign, Illinois. We did a thing called a tribute to the legacy of REO Speedwagon. Me and Neil Doughty, and Alan Gratzer, and Terry Luttrell, the original lead singer, and Mike Murphy, one of the lead singers, we — with the help of the guys of the entire community, the situation of Champaign and the radio stations.”
“It was this giant show. We put it on in the assembly hall there, State Farm Center, and it was a big success. We raised a bunch of money for Moffitt Cancer Center, like 50 grand for them, too. It was a charity thing, but basically, I wanted to tell the fans and the people back home, thank you so much for letting me have this wonderful life. You know, if it hadn’t been for them, I couldn’t have done this by myself. I mean, I can play guitar all I want in a room in a house, but I got to have the audience in order. That’s who makes you,” Hall explained.
Hall noted that the charity show felt like it could have been the band’s final goodbye. A recent tribute event for the late Gary Richrath brought the surviving members back together. “They just had a thing in Peoria, Illinois for Gary. It was a tribute to him at the Riverside Museum. They put an exhibit in there with some of his guitars and pictures of him. Really nice. It turned out great. And they wanted to have a nice opening sendoff tribute and asked if I would come, and I said sure. So Alan and Neil came, and this time Kevin came too. And we played a couple songs for these folks that were there. And it seems to me like at least we’re starting to act like — well, the thing is, if we could get the four of us together — that’s how Gary’s gone, of course, but Neil and Alan and myself and Kevin — and that’s the band that made all the records,” he said.
“My biggest thing is I’d like to go out and tell the crowd thank you. That’s what I want to do for the fans. I want to say thank you so much. This has been a great life. This is all I could ever have wanted, and it’s all because of you,” Hall concluded.
The tension between Cronin and Hall first became public in September 2024. REO Speedwagon announced it would cease touring effective January 1, 2025. The band cited irreconcilable differences between the two longtime members as the reason for the decision. Cronin subsequently continued performing with the same musicians who had toured as REO Speedwagon in recent years. He performed under the Kevin Cronin Band name.
The four musicians reunited on September 27, 2025, at the University of Illinois homecoming halftime show. It marked a major breakthrough. That performance marked the first time the four musicians had shared a stage since 1988. The reunion was preceded by the four serving as grand marshals of the university’s homecoming parade. It signaled a thaw in the fractured relationship.
The momentum continued with a March 7, 2026 reunion in Peoria. The same four members came together for a private tribute concert honoring the late Gary Richrath. The event took place at the Riverside Museum. The museum had opened an exhibit featuring some of Richrath’s guitars and photographs. Cronin later described the experience as exceeding his expectations. The onstage reconnection had reopened a door that had seemed firmly shut.
Cronin, Hall, Doughty, and Gratzer represent the classic lineup that recorded the bulk of REO Speedwagon’s most successful material. Richrath passed away in 2015. His absence remains a void that cannot be filled. Still, the surviving members have shown a willingness to set aside their differences and perform together. This suggests that Hall’s hope for a proper farewell show may not be unrealistic.
