"I kind of did that on purpose, because there's just so much fake AI stuff going on." Journey's Jonathan Cain admits to deliberately misleading fans over Steve Perry

Longtime Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain has admitted that a suggestion he made last month – that former singer Steve Perry might guest with the band on their current farewell tour – was deliberately misleading.

In mid-February, Cain was asked by Ultimate Classic Rock if Perry might appear with the band during the tour, which kicked off later that month at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

"Neal already asked, and he says (Perry's) thinking about it," Cain told the website. "I hope he comes out. It's never too late. We've got 100 shows, so he's welcome at any one of them."

Now, in a Rolling Stone report that reveals the dysfunctional nature of Journey's inner circle, Cain admits that he made the suggestion only because he knew Perry would be obliged to refute it.

"I just kind of planted a little seed out," Cain tells Rolling Stone. "I was trying to fish a little bit, and say, 'Well, he’s thinking about it.' He came immediately out and said, 'No, I’m not.' I kind of did that on purpose, because there’s just so much fake AI stuff going on. You just look at it and go, 'Wait a minute, no, that’s not true. None of this is true.'"

Elsewhere in a bewildering report from Journey's final rehearsal before the tour, writer Andy Greene finds Cain, guitarist Neal Schon and singer Arnel Pineda in very different places.

Pineda reveals that he's tried to leave the band twice, expresses fears that his singing voice won't stand up to the rigours of the tour, and claims that Cain once suggested he lip-sync onstage.

Meanwhile, Schon denies knowledge of Pineda's concerns and reveals that he's sick of his battles with Cain (the two have been exchanging lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders for several years), saying, "I just want some fucking peace, for real. I’m just really tired of all the legal [battles]. It’s meaningless to me. I don’t have any time for it."

For his part, Cain denies that he ever suggested that Pineda lip-sync onstage, and pushes back against Schon's suggestions that he become less politically active (Cain's wife is Paula White-Cain, Senior Advisor to the White House Faith Office, and he annoyed Schon in 2022 by performing Don't Stop Believin' during at a party at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate).

"People do that at a karaoke bar," he says. "I can’t do it at Mar-a-Lago? And, you know, it lit the room up. It was so great to see all these dignitaries go, ‘I think I know this song,’ and start singing. And I have to tell you, when you can light up a room and have some fun with a song that you helped create, then you’re doing a good thing. Everybody had a good time. I didn’t get paid for it."

The current leg of Journey's Final Frontier tour finishes at the Sames Auto Arena in Laredo, Texas, on July 2. More dates are expected to be announced.

Journey: Final Frontier tour dates 2026

Apr 03: Paycom Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Apr 04: InTrust Bank Arena, Wichita, KS
Apr 06: Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls, SD
Apr 08: Casey‘s Center, Des Moines, IA
Apr 09: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, NE
Apr 12: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Apr 14: ExtraMile Arena, Boise, ID
Apr 15: Spokane Arena, Spokane, WA
Apr 17: Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, BC
Apr 19: Matthew Knight Arena, Eugene, OR
Apr 21: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
Apr 22: Dignity Health Arena, Bakersfield, CA
Apr 24: Save Mart Center, Fresno, CA
May 15: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
May 16: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, FL
May 18: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
May 20: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
May 21: First Horizon Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
May 23: Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ
May 27: Bryce Jordan Center, State College, PA
May 28: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA
May 30: Food City Center, Knoxville, TN
May 31: Enmarket Arena, Savannah, GA
Jun 03: Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA
Jun 04: Berglund Center Coliseum, Roanoke, VA
Jun 06: DCU Center, Worcester, MA
Jun 07: SNHU Arena, Manchester, NH
Jun 10: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Jun 11: PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Jun 13: Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, OH
Jun 14: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
Jun 17: Ford Center, Evansville, IN
Jun 18: Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN
Jun 20: State Farm Center, Champaign, IL
Jun 21: Resch Center, Green Bay, WI
Jun 24: Vibrant Arena at the MARK, Moline, IL
Jun 25: Great Southern Bank Arena, Springfield, MO
Jun 27: Cadence Bank Arena, Tupelo, MS
Jun 28: Cajundome, Lafayette, LA
Jul 01: Hilliard Center, Corpus Christi, TX
Jul 02: Sames Auto Arena, Laredo, TX

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