Bon Jovi Forever: A Triumphant Return to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland!
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 17 hours ago
This past Friday night, with a full moon shining overhead, 67,000 loyal fans danced and sang their hearts out with the one, the only- Bon Jovi. Jon and the band made a triumphant return to a sold-out crowd at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh after a 15-year absence. So, grab your favourite denim jacket and get ready to rock as we bring you on a wee rock and roll adventure!
We are lifelong fans of the band and were thrilled when we were able to secure tickets last year during their pre-sale. It was a long year of waiting, but it was worth it! The anticipation and excitement really kicked into gear a couple of days before the concert as Bon Jovi fans started to fill the streets of Edinburgh- easily identifiable by their concert t-shirts.
Who are we kidding?! The anticipation started in our house much earlier - especially once the ‘Bon Jovi Forever’ tour kicked off in July at Madison Square Garden. The month prior to their Edinburgh tour date, you could find us rocking to Bon Jovi music during our downtime from our Edinburgh walking tours. While our Golden Retriever explorers/tour guides, Walter and Arthur, were very disappointed when they found out that they couldn’t go to the concert, they were happy to have their own ‘concert’ at home listening to their favourite Bon Jovi songs.
After a day of non-stop rain, we were praying that Mother Nature would come through for the concert. As we set off from our house to take the bus to Murrayfield, it was misting but it seemed like it was brightening up (at least we hoped that was the case and not just wishful thinking). We had to leave quite early because Bon Jovi just happened to choose to have their concert during the busiest time of the year in Edinburgh - festival and Military Tattoo season.
Every August Edinburgh hosts the world-renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe (‘the Fringe’) and Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) throughout the whole month. Additionally, Edinburgh Castle hosts the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo every night throughout August. To say it is crowded in Edinburgh in August is an understatement - it is wall to wall people. In fact, the population more than doubles in Edinburgh every August with millions of people visiting Scotland’s capital city.
Our bus ride was uneventful. That is, until we reached the bottom of North Bridge and saw that there were police cars and crowds outside of the Balmoral Hotel. Jon was staying at the famous hotel and there were hundreds of people waiting out front for him to leave for the concert. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see him before our bus turned and made a detour to get around the crowd, but we had solace in knowing we would soon see him performing in person.
Once we got off the bus, the sun made its glorious return and we joined thousands of fans that were making their way to the stadium. Now, Murrayfield deserves a standalone post so we will be doing that sometime soon. For now, we will just mention that normally Murrayfield Stadium is home to Scottish Rugby. However, it has also hosted other music legends over the years including Bruce Springsteen last year.
After we entered through the turnstiles, you could immediately feel the happiness that radiated from the throngs of people milling about the stadium. There were a wide selection of food stands and, of course, merchandise kiosks. We were also very impressed with the number of Murrayfield Stadium staff that were readily available if you had questions or needed assistance.
We quickly found our seats and were delighted with our view of the stage. The opening act was James Bay, and he did a great job getting the crowd warmed up.
As the sun began to set, we revelled in the beautiful summer day that it turned out to be, and it reminded us of another lovely Scottish summer day four years ago at the Bryan Adams concert at Floors Castle.
Before you knew it, it was time for the legendary rock band to start, and the crowd erupted with cheers as they made their way onto the stage. And, to really celebrate the fact that they were in Scotland, guitarist, Phil X, and drummer, Everett Bradley, were both wearing kilts.
One thing is for sure, Jon sounded fantastic despite the struggles he has experienced the past several years as he discussed in his 2024 documentary, ‘Thank You, Good Night: The Jon Bon Jovi Story’. So, it was wonderful to hear and see him in such great form. He clearly was enjoying himself and showed some amazing high energy. In fact, the show went on for almost 3 hours! We were so blessed to see the band play an excellent setlist that included a fantastic mix of old and new classics. For anyone interested here is the setlist from the 28 August 2026 concert at Murrayfield Stadium:
While it was an amazing show to see in person, we will try to convey some of what we experienced with a few videos and some photos for you to enjoy. Hopefully it’ll help you soak up a little of the Murrayfield Stadium concert ambience:
With a full moon shining over Murrayfield Stadium, the crowd swayed and sang their hearts out to Bon Jovi’s last song, ‘Always’. It was an incredible way to close out the show and a moment we will never forget.
We feel so privileged to live in Edinburgh - one of only three other cities that are part of the ‘Bon Jovi Forever’ 2026 tour - and we thank Jon and the band for giving us such an amazing concert.
Until next time: as Jon would say, ‘Thank You, Good Night!’
