Keanu Reeves played a concert with his band Dogstar this weekend for the first time in more than two decades. The actor joined his bandmates for the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley festival in California on a lineup that included Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, and The Smashing Pumpkins, among other A-listers. According to a report by The San Francisco Chronicle, Reeves’ performance was very well received.
Reeves is best known for acting in action franchises including The Matrix and John Wick, but die-hard fans know he also had aspirations of becoming a rock star in his youth. In 1991, after finding success on TV and in the Bill & Ted movies, Reeves formed an alternative rock band called Dogstar with Robert Mailhouse, Gregg Miller, and Bret Domrose, with Reeves playing bass guitar. The band released two albums and toured in 1997 but often had to schedule around Reeves’ acting career. They finally broke up in 2002, but remained friends and continued to play together in other formations.
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Dogstar began teasing a reunion last July on social media, and it seems like this weekend may have been its official launch. Drummer Robert Mailhousereportedly gave Reeves some tips about getting back on stage. Reeves told the Chronicle, “[Mailhouse] was just super positive. He was like, ‘Listen to the music. Just be present in the song. and it will go from there.’”
Reeves was briefly an official member of Mailhouse’s band Becky in the mid-2000s, but when he quit he stated that he could not commit to a serious career in music. However, in a recent interview with Billboard, he revealed how he has missed playing music in an ensemble like Dogstar. He said that he was excited to reunite with the band in some form even if they weren’t trying to sell out stadiums.
“I missed playing together, I missed writing together, I missed doing shows together. It’s something I’ve always missed,” he said. “We came to a spot where we weren’t playing anymore, and I missed it… Once we started to play, and it felt good, and really positive and creative, that’s when it was like, ‘Okay, let’s make this happen.’”
Dogstar is reportedly planning a new record as well, so fans may be seeing Reeves with a guitar in his hand more often in the years to come. For now, their previous records are on most music streaming apps.
