After months of canceled comeback tours, the Beach Boys performed their first public concert since July – with co-founder and frontman Mike Love joining the band on stage in Cincinnati, Ohio, despite “serious health issues.”
Love was helped on stage by his son Christian Love and actor and band member John Stamos, who told the PNC Pavilion audience Saturday night that Love “has been going through some health issues…but he wouldn’t miss it tonight.”
“That’s what he loves the most,” Stamos said before the show. “He loves the audience, he loves the music. He knows how important it is to all of you. So we’re all here to support him and give him as much love as we can.”
The 85-year-old musician – who wore a cap, hoodie and scarf – remained seated for the performance, with a microphone placed on a stand in front of him. He sang backing vocals and spoke to the audience to thank them for coming to the show.
On Sunday evening, Stamos shared a moving message on Instagram about his “beloved friend, father figure, musical hero and mentor” as the band headed to Nashville, Tennessee, to lovingly perform at the Ryman Auditorium.
“My beloved friend, father figure, musical hero and mentor, Mike Love, is facing serious health challenges,” the post read. “We hope he does what he loves for years to come, but we don’t know what the future holds. We’ll do it tonight.”
Stamos, who has played on and off with the Beach Boys for 41 years, continued: “Mike is a fighter. Although doctors, family and friends urge him to focus on his health, he insists on being on stage. He says he needs his band, the audience, his friends and the drummer around him to lift him up.”
The Full House actor wrote that “the Mike Love we see tonight may not be exactly the Mike we’ve always known. But he’s still the Mike we love.”
In June, after performing at Chelsea in London, Love shared on Instagram that he was recovering from bronchitis and later Covid.
He wrote: “Losing my sister, Maureen, on the first anniversary of my cousin Brian’s death, combined with my continued recovery from what started as bronchitis, followed by Covid, has taken a toll on me both emotionally and physically.
“I feel stronger every day physically, but I’m heartbroken emotionally. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere but with our audience. To me, our audience is the medicine and music is the cure. Thank you all for your outpouring of love, well wishes and prayers for healing. I am deeply touched and grateful.”
The Beach Boys’ Endless Summer Tour continues in the United States until November 13, when the band is scheduled to play at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Bristol, Virginia, followed by a makeup show on May 8, 2027 at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta.
Al Jardine, the only other surviving original member of the Beach Boys, is touring with his own Al Jardine and the Pet Sounds Band show, with four other US dates listed on their website.
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