Keanu Reeves returned to the stage Saturday, reuniting with his band, Dogstar, for the group’s first public performance in over 20 years.
“Great to be back on stage! What a fantastic day we had. Thank you so much BottleRock,” the band wrote in an Instagram post Sunday.
Dogstar band members Keanu Reeves, Robert Mailhouse, and Bret Domrose attend a culinary demonstration during the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2023, in Napa, Calif.Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Keanu Reeves of Dogstar performs on Day 2 of BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2023, in Napa, Calif.Steve Jennings/WireImage via Getty Images
Reeves and bandmates Bret Domrose and Rob Mailhouse played on the second day of BottleRock Napa Valley, a three-day music festival held in northern California’s famed wine region, with Reeves on bass, Domrose playing guitar and singing and Mailhouse on drums.
Bret Domrose, Robert Mailhouse, and Keanu Reeves of Dogstar perform during the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2023, in Napa, Calif.Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
Keanu Reeves of Dogstar attends the Culinary Stage on Day 2 of BottleRock Napa Valley Music Festival at Napa Valley Expo on May 27, 2023, in Napa, Calif.Steve Jennings/WireImage via Getty Images
Mailhouse also shared on Instagram a behind-the-scenes video clip of the team setting up the drum kit before the band’s performance.
“Drum roll please. Thanks to the fantastic crew at BottleRock. and our tour manager Tj Goldstein, who is on loan from Three Dog Night, and guitar tech Bill Lanham from Tears For Fears. We love you guys. We couldn’t have done this without you. Love to Keith Sarkisian at WME and Dennis and Brant at Qprime. Most of all, to my beautiful, loving wife. This one was for you ❤️,” Mailhouse wrote in the caption.
Dogstar announced its comeback last summer. Since then, the band has been busy writing new songs, according to posts on the rock band’s social media pages, and plan on releasing a new album, titled “Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees.” Its second album, “Happy Ending,” was released in 2000 and since then, the band has “reformed and taken a great creative leap forward, establishing an entirely new path,” according to a profile shared on BottleRock’s website.
Reeves told Billboard this month that he had missed his Dogstar days.
“I missed playing together, I missed writing together, I missed doing shows together. It’s something I’ve always missed,” the “John Wick” star 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.’”
