Kevin Kronin “Feels Hurt and Violated” by Exclusion from One-Time REO Speedwagon Reunion

Kevin Kronin’s Disappointment

Former REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Kronin expressed his disappointment on social media regarding the upcoming one-time reunion of the group.

Details of the Reunion Concert

The classic rock band will be honored at a concert in Shampeyn, Illinois, in June, featuring former members Nile Daut and Alan Gratzer, alongside longtime bassist Bruce Hall and earlier members Terri Lattrell, Mike Murphy, and Steve Skorfin-Vosa for a special celebration.

Notably absent from this reunion is Kronin, who joined the band in 1972 and left the following year, only to return in 1976 and remain until their farewell tour scheduled for 2024.

In September of last year, REO Speedwagon announced they would cease touring at the end of the year, attributing this decision to “irreconcilable differences” between Kronin and Hall. Earlier, Kronin shared that he “didn’t want to end REO Speedwagon… I just crossed the line and… have to stop referencing him as REO Speedwagon by the year’s end.”

Since the band’s disbandment, Kronin has toured with his own group, Kevin Kronin. In a social media post announcing their performance in the Rock Legends 2026 cruise, a fan commented on the upcoming REO Speedwagon concert, expressing: “Of course, it would be nice if you could be present.”

Kronin replied with a lengthy statement, stating: “The organizers of the Shampein event could have chosen a date when all former REO members were available to participate,” he began, noting that the selected date conflicted with a concert he had scheduled with his own band and STYX in another state.

He asserted that he was “asked to take part in the event at a date when I cannot be there personally,” clarifying that he had been “falsely accused of refusing to be invited.”

“I am deeply concerned and pained by all this,” he stated. “Ultimately, I helped build the legacy of REO Speedwagon, and I feel I have earned and deserve to be included in any event honoring this legacy. Instead, I was deliberately excluded.”

Kronin added that former members Dave Amato and Brian Hitt “were not even respected enough to be invited to the event in Shampeyn.” Amato and Hitt are currently performing with Kronin in their solo group.

During the final show of the group in 2024, Kronin said in a farewell speech: “The name REO Speedwagon retires tonight.”

“But the music, spirit, and songs of REO Speedwagon will live on with this group and with me under the name of Kevin Kronin. We hope you join us in this adventure.”

As REO Speedwagon’s end approaches, interest in the group was primarily held by three members: Kronin, the lone remaining founding member, along with longtime bassist Bruce Hall and Nile Daut. Hall has been absent from the tour since November 2023 due to back surgery, while Daut left the tour last year. Daut and Hall voted to end REO Speedwagon, outvoting Kronin two to one.