Journey Again Brought Out Hugo Valenti

The longtime tribute band singer once again sang with Journey at a show in Japan, fronting the group on “Faithfully” and the 1981 deep cut “Keep on Runnin'”

Two days after Journey stunned their fans by bringing out longtime tribute band singer Hugo Valenti to sing “Faithfully” at a show in Fukuoka, Japan, they invited him back onstage when the tour reached “Tokyo.” This time around he sang not only “Faithfully,” but also the 1981 deep cut “Keep on Runnin.’”

As many fans noted, Valenti wasn’t at his best in Fukuoka, possibly due to nerves or audio issues, but he absolutely nailed it in Tokyo, and the crowd erupted.

This doesn’t mean that Journey frontman Arnel Pineda is out of a job. He was onstage for the majority of the night at both Japanese shows. But he’s taken vocal breaks every night of this long tour, passing the mic to keyboardists Jason Derlatka and Jonathan Cain and drummer Deen Castronovo.

“We’ve got lots of singers in this band,” Journey guitarist Neal Schon told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “Deen is a tremendous singer. Todd is a tremendous singer. So [Pineda] doesn’t have to feel all that pressure. It’s a long show. If he wants to take a break, take a break, and one of those guys can step up to the mic and sing.”

Journey are now done with the brief Japanese leg of their farewell tour, and are headed to Honolulu on September 5th for the start of the final North American portion. It’s unclear if Valenti will come along for the ride, but he needs to be in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 11 for a show with Hugo – The Ultimate Journey Tribute. His group features Adam Augeri – son of former Journey lead singer Steve Augeri – on drums. (Back in 1998, Steve Augeri beat out Hugo for the difficult job of replacing Steve Perry.)

But after the Hoboken show, Valenti’s only other date in 2026 is a gig in Patchogue, New York, on September 12. That creates plenty of opportunities for him to guest with Journey throughout the remainder of their tour, which wraps up November 28 in San Francisco.

Fans have been dreaming that Steve Perry might show up that night, but odds are much better that Valenti will make an appearance.

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