Kevin Cronin to reunite with REO Speedwagon bandmates for University of Illinois homecoming

REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin is set to reunite with his bandmates for a special event in September.

In September 2024, REO Speedwagon announced they were going to cease touring as of January 2025. Following that announcement there seemed to be some bad blood between Cronin and his former bandmate, bassist Bruce Hall, and Cronin has since been touring as the Kevin Cronin Band. Well, now it appears that any issues between the bandmates have been put aside.

Hall shared on Facebook that REO Speedwagon, which formed in Illinois, will be the grand marshals at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s homecoming parade on Sept. 26. In addition, the school’s band, the Marching Illini, will be performing selections of REO’s music during the halftime show on Sept. 27, with the rockers playing along.

Although Hall’s initial post didn’t indicate whether Cronin would be taking part in the festivities, Cronin has now confirmed that he will be there.

“I am honored to have been approached by representatives of the University of Illinois, and invited to appear on the field for the Homecoming Game halftime show on September 27,” Cronin wrote on social media, noting it’s “been too many years to count” since he and his REO Speedwagon bandmates, Hall, Neal Doughty and Alan Gratzer, have all been together.

“As a songwriter, there are few greater honors than to hear other artists and musicians perform my songs,” he adds. “I know I will be looking on in awe as the four hundred-plus Marching Illini pay tribute to the music of REO Speedwagon with an all-REO halftime presentation.”