Lzzy Hale joining Skid Row on tour coming to Riverside Casino

It's not easy replacing a singer, but it’s been done throughout rock history.

Brian Johnson became AC/DC’s vocalist after Bon Scott died in 1980 and the Australian band leapt to rock’s upper echelon during the early ’80s.

Journey received a jolt when vocalist Arnel Pineda joined the group in 2008, a decade after Steve “The Voice” Perry left the band. Journey is headlining arenas just as it did during the ’80s.

If any band can hold a seminar on replacing a singer, it’s Skid Row. After parting company with the incredibly talented but enigmatic Sebastian Bach in 1996, the hard rock band went on a three-year hiatus.

Skid Row reformed with Johnny Solinger as vocalist in 1999, who successfully fronted the band until 2015. Former TNT singer Tony Harnell replaced Solinger in 2015 but left Skid Row in 2016. The following year, former DragonForce singer ZP Theart joined the group and remained until 2022.

Swedish “Idol” winner Erik Gronwall joined Skid Row in 2022 but left the band in March that year to focus on recovering from leukemia treatments.

Skid Row managed to not just fill the gap, but added a vocalist for a tour that will bring some spice to its forthcoming dates. The charismatic Lzzy Hale, who grew up a huge Skid Row fan, will perform in the band’s sold-out show Saturday night, May 18, 2024, in the Riverside Casino Event Center. She’s so new that media photos weren’t available before Friday’s tour launch in Carterville, Ill.,

The Halestorm vocalist/guitarist delivered a statement via social media on her new gig:

“I started listening to Skid Row when I was a teenager growing up on the east coast in central Pennsylvania wrote on Instagram. They were one of the only bands at that time that truly bridged the gap for my love of ’80s big choruses and riffs, but had the same poignant dirt and grime that was seeping into the cracks of my mind during the ’90s. By the early ’00s, Halestorm was well into coming into its own, inspired by these powerful songs that helped me unlock a door within myself as a young musician.”

It’s a great situation for a band that refuses to look back. Sebastian Bach toured behind Skid Row’s debut album in 2019. The larger-than-life frontman with the enviable vocal range invited his former bandmates to a reunion, but guitarist Dave “Snake” Sabo rejected the offer.

“We’ve been a band that’s always moved forward,” Sabo said while calling from New York.

The Skid Row shows with Hale could be a blast, since she’s a perfect match just like Axl Rose was when he subbed for AC/DC’s Brian Johnson in 2016. Rose was born to sing AC/DC and Hale is an excellent fit for Skid Row.

Skid Row, which also includes bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarist Scotti Hill and drummer Rob Hammersmith, continues to play with verve.

“We're still excited to get up there and perform,” Sabo said. “I still love playing songs like ‘Youth Gone Wild’ and ‘Monkey Business.’ The fans still want to hear those songs and we love to play them.”

Part of what keeps the band going is that the members get along.

“We really enjoy being around each other,” Sabo said. “It helps that I’ve known Rachel and Scotti for a long time. If we still get along at this point, we’ll probably continue to get along. We like being around each other and we’re still passionate about the Skid Row songs.”

The fans remain passionate, too, supporting a band that has made its mark in rock history with two multi-platinum albums, 1989’s eponymous release and 1991’s “Slave to the Grind.”

“It’s all about the fans,” Sabo said. “If they continue to come out, we’ll continue to perform.”