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BON JOVI OPENS TOUR AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN ( SET LIST + PHOTOS )

Photo: Theo Wargo   Bon Jovi returned to the stage Tuesday night, launching their Forever Tour with the first of nine sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden — the band's first full-scale concerts since 2022, and their first since frontman Jon Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord surgery. The night's real question was whether the voice had survived. It had. It took a couple of songs to warm — the Joe Cocker–style reading of "With a Little Help From My Friends" was cautious — but by "Lost Highway" he'd found his footing, and the familiar rasp was back. On the highest reaches of "Livin' on a Prayer" he leaned on his bandmates, then turned the chorus over to 20,000 people: "One more time… for me." At 64, grayer and now a grandfather, Bon Jovi still worked the room on charisma alone — two hands on the mic, that leg-kicking bounce, fists in the air. Original members Tico Torres and David Bryan anchored a band playing every note live, no teleprompter. Between songs he kept stopping to look around, visibly moved. "I'm grateful and humbled by this whole ordeal," he told the crowd. "Thank you for letting me have this." Photo: Theo WargoPhoto: Theo WargoPhoto: Theo Wargo Setlist: With a Little Help From My Friends (The Beatles cover)Beautiful DrugWe Weren't Born to FollowLost HighwayWho Says You Can't Go HomeYou Give Love a Bad NameBorn to Be My BabyLegendaryWhole Lot of Leavin'In These ArmsHave a Nice DayIt's My LifeLivin' on a PrayerLay Your Hands on MeBlood on BloodLiving ProofThis House Is Not for SaleKeep the Faith Encore:I'll Be There for YouWanted Dead or AliveBad Medicine