SKID ROW Partners With SWEETWATER To Launch Worldwide Search For New Singer
Архив новостей | Русская версия
Legendary hard rock band SKID ROW has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with U.S. company Sweetwater, the world's leading online retailer of musical instruments and pro-audio equipment, to search worldwide for their next lead vocalist. The collaboration invites singers from around the world to audition for the opportunity to front one of rock's most enduring and respected bands.
In 2026, SKID ROW marks its 40th anniversary. Over four decades, the band has delivered some of hard rock's most iconic anthems, including "18 And Life", "I Remember You", "Monkey Business" and "Youth Gone Wild". With multi-platinum albums, chart-topping releases, and a global touring legacy, the band has remained a defining force in rock music. Now, SKID ROW is opening the door to a new era — seeking a vocalist who can honor their legacy and shape the future.
"This is not a contest or a gimmick," the band emphasizes. "It's a genuine search for the right voice, presence, and authenticity to carry SKID ROW forward."
Worldwide auditions officially open February 5, with no submission deadline. SKID ROW will continue reviewing submissions until the right singer is found.
"I first saw SKID ROW play in New Jersey before they were signed, and they totally blew me away with the sheer quality of their songs, and the infectious high-energy of their performance," commented Sweetwater's resident rocker and content creator Nick Bowcott. "We at Sweetwater are excited to partner with the group to host this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
For more information, visit Sweetwater.
On January 31, SKID ROW guitarist Scotti Hill was asked by The Music Universe about the band's singer search following the March 2024 departure of Erik Grönwall. Scotti said: "Yes, we are working on that. We're gonna really get it kicking in here in a few weeks. Let me see — in about a week we're gonna make an announcement for a real push, and we're gonna get it done and we're gonna get the right person for the job and we're gonna get back out there."
After the interviewer noted that the "singer has to be really top-notch" to be able to handle the SKID ROW material, Scotti concurred. "It's not an easy job. It's not an easy job, really," he said. "I mean, that stuff is really hard to sing. And it's gotta be the right chemistry, because in our band we get along really great. We get along really well. We're family, and we need somebody to be family with us."
Last month SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan spoke to the "Rockstrap" podcast about the band's ongoing singer search following the departure of Grönwall nearly two years ago. The now-38-year-old Swedish-born musician, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in March 2021, announced his departure from SKID ROW in March 2024, saying that it had become increasingly "difficult to prioritize" his health and full recovery as the lead singer of the group.
"We have a couple of guys on our radar," Bolan said. "We've auditioned a few people, but we're gonna do a big, gigantic… We were just waiting for the new year to start. Not so much an open call, but there's a lot of people that wanna audition, so we're just going — us and management and our producer, Nick Raskulinecz, we're all going through each person saying, like, 'Okay, let's get in a room with this person. 'This person [is a] little too young or a little too green,' or 'they can't sing. Who told them they could sing?' You get that too. So we have a couple of guys on our radar that we're pretty excited about. So hopefully before the end of the year we'll be back out on the road."
When one of the interviewers noted that SKID ROW has had especially bad luck with securing permanent singers, Rachel said: "It's just one of those things, man. We had a really good thing going with Erik. I think the road was just too much for him, [with] his past health issues and whatnot, and it just didn't work out, which was a bummer… He fit right in, and the fans loved him."
