Richie Sambora admitted there have been conversations about his potential return to Bon Jovi.
The guitarist kept things short while walking the red carpet of The Music Industry Trust Awards in London. When asked by U.K. outlet Metro about a hypothetical reunion with his former band at the 2023 Glastonbury festival, Sambora replied: “It’s a possibility. We’re talking a bit.” The guitarist reportedly had a “cheeky smile on his face” while giving the remark.
Though the brief statement offered very little details or context, it’s noteworthy that Sambora admitted he’d been in contact with the Bon Jovi camp.
The guitarist abruptly left the band in 2013, a decision he made to spend more time with his then-teenage daughter, Ava.
“It wasn’t a popular decision by any means, obviously, but there was really almost no choice about it,” Sambora recalled in 2020. “I’m really glad I did it. It’s certainly worked out for our family. [Ex-wife] Heather [Locklear] is doing very, very well now, and Ava’s doing phenomenally.”
Though Sambora’s relationship with Jon Bon Jovi was initially strained following his departure, the two are reportedly on good terms these days. In 2018, the guitarist joined his former bandmates on stage during Bon Jovi’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. At that time Sambora suggested he could “never say never” regarding a full-fledged reunion. Two years later, he noted that “it would have to be a special situation for me to go back, but I’m certainly not counting it out. I have no malice toward that band.”
Whether a headlining set at Glastonbury counts as a “special situation” remains to be seen. The famed event is one of the biggest and most celebrated music festivals in the world. Paul McCartney, the Cure, ZZ Top, Motorhead and the Who are among the classic acts who have played Glastonbury in the last decade. Bon Jovi has never performed at the festival.
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