Bon Jovi fans who attended the band’s Sunday (July 19) concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden were left scratching their heads when the rockers omitted several set list mainstays, including one of their all-time biggest hits.
Sunday’s show marked the sixth of nine dates Bon Jovi is performing at the World’s Most Famous Arena this month. The residency, which began on July 7, marks the band’s first public, full-scale concerts since 2022, and since frontman Jon Bon Jovi underwent vocal cord surgery.
Bon Jovi’s first five Madison Square Garden shows ranged from two hours and 15 minutes to two hours and 30 minutes, featuring between 21 and 23 songs. By contrast, their July 19 show only lasted two hours and five minutes and the set list comprised 20 songs.
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You can see the band’s full July 19 set list below.
What Songs Did Bon Jovi Cut During Their Sixth Madison Square Garden Show?
The most glaring set list omission from night six was the Slippery When Wet smash “Wanted Dead or Alive.” According to setlist.fm, it’s the third-most-played song in the band’s catalog with 1,571 documented live performances, only shortly behind its Slippery When Wet counterparts “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” (which have 1,582 documented performances apiece).
Bon Jovi also skipped their 1994 hit power ballad “Always,” which they performed as the show-closing song on nights three, four and five of their Madison Square Garden residency. Lastly, they omitted the 2024 Forever single “Red, White and Jersey,” which they played on nights two through five.
Other set list shakeups throughout the New York run have included the swapping of Keep the Faith‘s “In These Arms” for “Bed of Roses,” along with the recent incorporation of 2020‘s “Let It Rain.”
Why Did Bon Jovi Skip So Many Songs at Their Latest MSG Show?
Given Jon Bon Jovi’s well-documented vocal struggles over the past four years, fans have speculated online whether the singer was dealing with vocal fatigue during the band’s July 19 concert. The rockers have not addressed the set list omissions as of Monday morning.
Bon Jovi’s Madison Square Garden residency will resume on Tuesday and conclude on July 26. After a monthlong break, they’ll head to the United Kingdom for a handful of shows throughout August and September.
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Bon Jovi – July 19, 2026, Madison Square Garden Set List
1. “With a Little Help From My Friends”
2. “Beautiful Drug”
3. “We Weren’t Born to Follow”
4. “Lost Highway”
5. “Who Says You Can’t Go Home”
6. “You Give Love a Bad Name”
7. “Born to Be My Baby”
8. “Legendary”
9. “Let It Rain”
10. “Whole Lot of Leavin'”
11. “Bed of Roses”
12. “Have a Nice Day”
13. “It’s My Life”
14. “Livin’ on a Prayer”
15. “Lay Your Hands on Me”
16. “Limitless”
17. “This House Is Not for Sale”
18. “Keep the Faith”
Encore
19. “I’ll Be There for You”
20. “Bad Medicine”
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
