Skid Row have named Broadway veteran Justin Sargent as their new singer, ending a search that kept the New Jersey hard rock band off the stage for more than two years. The Skid Row new singer announcement came Oct. 29, 2026, along with a cover of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” a limited signed 7-inch, and the first 2027 tour dates of the band’s 40th anniversary era. The closest announced show to San Diego is March 5 at The Show at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage.
Sargent joins bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave “Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill, and drummer Rob Hammersmith. In the band’s announcement, Skid Row say they first noticed him last year, and months of conversations and rehearsals followed before they made it official. After searching worldwide, they point out, they found their new voice “right where it all began,” in New Jersey.
Who Is Justin Sargent, Skid Row’s New Singer?
Sargent comes from Broadway rather than the club circuit. According to the band, he played Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, the musical with music by Bono and The Edge, and Drew in the rock musical Rock Of Ages. He was also in the original Broadway cast of Bonnie & Clyde. Ultimate Classic Rock notes that Rock Of Ages was his Broadway debut, in 2011.
Born in Murphysboro, Illinois, and raised in Florida, Sargent has performed alongside John Legend, Alice Cooper, Sara Bareilles, Dee Snider and Kip Winger, and has sung as a guest with Air Supply. His screen credits include NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live, Law & Order: SVU and Mr. Robot.
“Honestly, for me, it felt like he had been here from the beginning as soon as he walked in the room,” Bolan said. “He was one of us. A lifer. Then he sang with so much power and conviction, it blew me away.”
Sabo said the band “all kind of knew he was the guy” the moment Sargent walked in: “Everything about him; his voice, his attitude, his demeanor, it all just fit.”
Sargent’s own reaction: “I’ve been singing Skid Row songs for years, but never imagined I’d actually be joining the band! It’s an incredible honor to be part of something with such a legendary history.”
‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’: The First Recording With Sargent
The new lineup’s first recording is a cover of The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Nick Raskulinecz, the Grammy-winning producer known for work with Foo Fighters, Rush, Halestorm and Alice In Chains, produced and recorded it. He also produced Skid Row’s 2022 album The Gang’s All Here. Dale “Rage” Resteghini, whose credits include Five Finger Death Punch, Guns N’ Roses and Alter Bridge, directed the music video.
The video arrived with the announcement, and the band’s official news post lists the single for streaming and download on Oct. 30, 2026. A hand-signed 7-inch single, limited to 500 copies worldwide, went up for pre-order the same day.
“Anything by The Who is top shelf in my book, but ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ is an anthem of generations,” Hill said. Hammersmith called the song “the ultimate launchpad to signal a loud, unapologetic new era for us.”
Skid Row 2027 Tour Dates: Rancho Mirage Is the Nearest Stop
The first dates with Sargent start in the California desert. Skid Row’s official announcement and the band’s tour feed list March 5, 2027, at The Show at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage as the opener. That makes the Coachella Valley date the closest one to San Diego so far. No San Diego show has been announced. The band says more dates are coming, and ticket on-sale information has not been announced yet.
- March 5 – Rancho Mirage, CA – The Show at Agua Caliente
- March 20 – New Buffalo, MI – Four Winds Casino
- April 3 – Welch, MN – Island Event Center
- April 9 – Mashantucket, CT – Foxwoods Resort Casino
- April 10 – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
- April 16 – Wheatland, CA – Hard Rock Live
- April 17 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Resort
- April 18 – Shelton, WA – Little Creek Casino
- April 23 – Quapaw, OK – Downstream Casino
- April 24 – Grant, OK – Choctaw Casino
- May 9 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome To Rockville
- May 14 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple
- May 29 – Niagara Falls, ON – OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino
- Sept. 25 – French Lick, IN – French Lick Resort
Press reports, including Blabbermouth and Loudwire, also list an April 2 show at the VooDoo Lounge at Harrah’s in Kansas City, Missouri. That date doesn’t appear in the list on the band’s own news post, so check with the venue before planning around it.
Wheatland already has a place in this story. When Erik Grönwall left the band in March 2024 to focus on his health, Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale stepped in to finish the booked dates, and that run ended June 1, 2024, in Wheatland. The April 16 show brings the band back to Wheatland early in the new era.
How Skid Row Got Here
Grönwall, the former H.E.A.T singer who had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2021, announced his exit in March 2024. Since Sebastian Bach’s 1996 firing, Skid Row’s singers have been Johnny Solinger, Tony Harnell, ZP Theart and Grönwall, so Sargent is the band’s fifth frontman since Bach, per Blabbermouth’s history.
Rather than rush, the band opened the search to the public. UCR reports that Skid Row launched an online search in February 2026, and the band partnered with retailer Sweetwater to reach more singers. Bolan told UCR the band was prepared to wait: “If we don’t tour for a few years, then so be it. We’re always going to be able to tour. We just have to find the right person.”
The 40th anniversary has other releases too. The band’s site lists 40 Seasons: The Best Of Skid Row, newly remastered and on vinyl for the first time, out Nov. 6 via BMG. A Record Store Day picture disc of songs from their set at the Moscow Music Peace Festival follows on Nov. 27.
For more 2027 touring news, see our roundup of 2027 tours skipping San Diego.
FAQ: Skid Row’s New Singer and 2027 Tour
A New Voice for Skid Row’s 40th
Skid Row are back with Justin Sargent at the mic. The Broadway veteran joins Bolan, Sabo, Hill and Hammersmith after a public search that ran through 2026, and the new lineup’s first release is a Nick Raskulinecz-produced take on “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”
For San Diego fans, the nearest stop so far is March 5 at The Show at Agua Caliente in Rancho Mirage, where the band begins its 2027 run. More dates are promised and ticket details are still to come, so keep an eye on the band’s site for a possible stop closer to home.
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