Journey guitarist Neal Schon has issued a statement following lead singer Arnel Pineda’s comments in a recent Rolling Stone interview, where he discussed wanting to exit the band’s ongoing “Final Frontier Tour” before it even started.
“Over the years, Journey has always been about the music and the fans first. There’s been some recent press and speculation that doesn’t reflect the full picture,” Schon shared on his personal Facebook page. “Touring at this level involves many moving parts, and decisions are made collectively with our team, including management, agents, and promoters.”
He continued, “Like any long-running band, there are moments where people feel the pressure differently. I respect that, and I have nothing but appreciation for what everyone brings to the stage.”
“For clarity, no one was ever prevented by me from making their own personal decisions. At the same time, we were all advised by our representatives that there are contractual obligations tied to touring that need to be honored,” he concluded. “My focus has always been — and remains — delivering the best possible experience for our fans and keeping the music alive.”
Schon’s statement comes after Pineda told Rolling Stone he was not involved with the decision-making process of the tour. “Back in 2024, I said to them, ‘If you’re planning to do a farewell tour, you better tell me, because my issues and my personal problems are getting more intense, and I don’t know if I want to go with you,'” he recalled. “‘I said, ‘I want you to discuss the schedule with me.’ It is what it is now… But then, I was really not happy with how they scheduled this tour.”
The 58-year-old singer explained that his body has “changed” and that he is no longer able to “take the cold weather anymore,” which the band apparently didn’t consider when booking the tour to kick off in February in cities with wintry weather.
After an email expressing his frustrations was met with “silence,” Pineda told his bandmates twice that he wanted to leave Journey. “I said to them I wanted to retire because of my personal problems. No answer. Obviously, they don’t want to find another singer,” he added.
What’s more, Pineda didn’t learn of initial plans for two hour-long sets with an intermission in between until the last minute. He had missed rehearsals while dealing with legal issues in the Philippines related to his divorce and domestic abuse allegations.
Pineda said the break “puts my voice in trouble,” comparing it to a car going “full speed, and then hav[ing] to stop, and then go full speed.”
It is worth noting that both Pineda and Schon told Rolling Stone that AEG’s contract with the band “actually stipulates that this tour cannot go forward without Pineda.”
For his part, Pineda recently posted a video with the caption, “i look so light and high in the picture but why am i feeling heavy somehow? what happened to spark? what happened to magic? blur it seems these days. a burden i can’t seem to shake off my shoulder. a ghost that’s following me everywhere i go. i miss sunshine.”
Journey being Journey, there was already other public drama leading up to the tour. Before its announcement, Schon claimed in October 2025 that Jonathan Cain was stepping away from the band to focus on his ministry work. The two later clarified that Cain would remain dedicated to Journey over the next couple of years.
Months later, in February, Cain claimed Schon “already asked” former vocalist Steve Perry about joining them on tour, and Perry didn’t rule out the possibility. However, Perry was quick to shut down the speculation.
The next date on Journey’s “Final Frontier Tour” is tonight, April 6th, at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. Subsequent stops include Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Knoxville, Buffalo, and Cincinnati. See the full list of dates below, and grab your tickets here.
