Journey’s Jonathan Cain to Leave Band After One More Tour

Journey’s Jonathan Cain is set to depart the band after one more tour.

Cain’s longtime bandmate — and frequent foe — Neal Schon effectively broke the news on social media last night (Oct. 9), though his initial post left some confusion about the exact details of Cain’s departure. Originally, Schon wrote, “Jonathan Cain announced his farewell to Journey tonight. I’m nowhere near done! Journey has so much more life ahead! I’m sure we will have a great tour!”

While Schon’s tweet made it seem like Cain’s departure was effective immediately, on Friday afternoon he shared another post clarifying that Cain would be touring with the band “all through” 2026 and 2027 “celebrating the music we’ve created.” Journey haven’t announced any tour dates for 2026 and 2027 yet, and it’s unclear if the band will continue without Cain after that.

Cain’s management also released a statement, saying, “Jonathan Cain remains an active member of Journey, and any reports suggesting otherwise are inaccurate. He is fully dedicated to touring with the band over the next couple of years and has only expressed plans to retire at a later time” (via Consequence). 

Reps for Journey did not immediately return a request for additional comment.

Cain seemingly teased his exit from the band last week during an appearance on on the Strang Report podcast, where he was promoting his tribute song to Charlie Kirk. He was speaking about some of his upcoming musical projects — including a solo EP that he said would be out by the end of the year — before saying, “Then of course, we go on the Journey tour in 2026. On our farewell Journey tour. So I’ll be saying goodbye to that. And I’ll probably move into ministry and worship; I feel a calling there.” (Cain’s wife, Paula White-Cain, is a prominent pastor and televangelist.)

Cain joined Journey in 1980 and was a key part of the band’s monumental run during that decade. He co-wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and also wrote or co-wrote hits like “Faithfully” “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart),” “Open Arms,” and “Be Good To Yourself.” Cain left the band in 1987, was part of a one-off show in 1991, and has been part of the Journey lineup since they officially reunited in 1995. 

While Journey has remained very active in recent years, they’ve toured against a backdrop of almost constant bickering — both in the press and the courts — between Cain and Schon. One squabble centered around Cain allowing Donald Trump to use Journey’s music at his rallies, while another legal battle centered around the use of Journey’s American Express card (the dispute was resolved last year).