Jon Bon Jovi is ready to get back on stage.
In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE as he and Bon Jovi celebrated the opening of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s latest exhibit centered around their band, the rock star, 62, opens up about returning to live music after undergoing vocal cord surgery.
When asked if he is reclaiming his voice with Bon Jovi’s latest record, Forever, Jon says, “I guess I am.”
As for performing in front of crowds once more, the musician notes, “We performed last night in Nashville, and everything was very good.”
“So step by step, I’m getting back to it,” adds the father of four. (He shares daughter Stephanie, 31, and sons Jesse, 29, Jake, 22, and Romeo, 20, with wife Dorothea Bongiovi.)
Jon opened up about the vocal cord issues he struggled with in his new docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.
In it, the legendary rocker explained that he began experiencing the issues around 2015 but didn’t address them until he had a “devastating” conversation with his wife while on tour in 2022. It was then when he realized he could either seek medical help or retire.
Jon had the surgery — which alleviated the loose vocal cords that were affecting his voice — in June 2022. He now works with vocal coaches and does daily voice exercises. “Every day is the recovery process,” he recently said.
“I’m capable of singing. What I’m not necessarily capable of is two and a half hours a night, four nights a week,” the “Livin’ on a Prayer” singer added. “But I’m aspiring to get that back.”
Jon recently told PEOPLE that he turned to a famous friend for advice amid his health struggles: Shania Twain.
“She’s been my spirit sister in this,” Jon said of the “Any Man of Mine” singer, 58, who had a vocal fold medialization procedure in 2018.
Jon said he turned to Twain because “she’s the only other one I’ve known that’s ever had this surgery, with this doctor, and the only reason I found that out is because she reported it in the press.”
“Not only did she reassure me that it would be OK, but I think she also pulled my leg a little bit because she told me I’d be out there a lot sooner than I have been. She says, ‘Well, I told you that because I knew that you might back out otherwise.’ And so, I couldn’t wait to get the operation,” he added.
Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story is streaming now on Hulu. Tickets to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame can be purchased here.
