Nikki Sixx Praises Vince Neil After Las Vegas Return
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx says Vince Neil “sounded solid and badass” during the band’s recent return to the stage in Las Vegas. The Dolby Live residency at Park MGM had originally been scheduled for the spring but was postponed after Neil revealed that he suffered a stroke last Christmas.
Sixx’s comment came after a fan on social media suggested that Vince needed to get in shape and fix his voice before joining Crüe on their newly announced 2026 summer tour with Tesla and Extreme.
“Did you hear him in Vegas? He sounded solid and bad ass.”
Guitarist John 5 also backed Vince Neil, saying the singer exceeded expectations after his health scare. Speaking with Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, John 5 said that when the band began rehearsal for the residency, Neil was moving and singing far better than they expected.
According to him, Vince gave some of the best performances John 5 has seen in his three years with the band. He stated that Neil is performing fully live, without backing tracks, and singled out “Home Sweet Home” as proof of how strong Neil’s voice has become.
“Well, we didn’t really know, but when we got into rehearsal, we were, like, ‘Oh. He’s moving good.’ And then he started singing, and we were, like, ‘Oh my God, he’s singing great, actually.’ So I don’t know what happened, but he is — I’ve been in the band for three years now, and he’s singing so well. I’m, like, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’ And he looks great. And I just go into his room all the time and tell him how proud I am of him. Because in the [Las Vegas Review-Journal] interview [where Vince first revealed his stroke], he said, yeah, he had to learn how to walk again and all that stuff. I mean, that’s serious stuff. So maybe he was just, like, ‘Oh, okay, and then just everything clicked. I mean, he’s killing it. And there’s no tracks or anything like that. He’s just singing great… When I heard ‘Home Sweet Home’, I was, like, ‘Holy shit. This is really, really great.’ So I’m just so proud of him. And the guys in the band were, like, ‘This is some of the best shows we’ve ever done.’ So, we’re super, super excited.”
In a separate interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, John 5 shared how emotional the experience was, especially knowing Vince had to learn how to walk again after his stroke. He described Vince’s performance as “the real magic” of the residency, saying every show was strong and that he was “so proud” of him.
The real magic was Vince Neil. What he went through and his struggles and how he performed and how he sang, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. He did such a great job, and I was so proud of him because I knew what hell he went through, and I was so happy for the guy. What he said — he even said it — he was in a wheelchair and then he had to learn how to walk again. And I was, like, ‘Oh my God.’ The struggle and how terrifying that must have been. So that was the real magic of that residency. And I’m telling you right now — every single show was amazing. There wasn’t a bad show. And I listen and I read those comments and I listen and I’m so focused in on every show. And every show was awesome. I was so proud of him.”
When asked if he ever worried Neil wouldn’t return to performing, John 5 said that nobody was sure what was going to happen. He stayed in contact with Vince, but details were unclear until they saw him rehearse. The transformation surprised everyone.
“Well, I wasn’t sure. Nobody really knew anything. And I would text with Vince, and he would say, ‘Oh, I’m doing good, I’m doing good,’ and things like that. But no one really knew what was going on. You heard rumblings. So it was wild.”
Mötley Crüe Announces “Return of Carnival of Sins” Tour
In a new interview with Mike Hsu of 100 FM The Pike, Nikki Sixx spoke about Mötley Crüe’s upcoming “Return of Carnival of Sins” tour, celebrating both the 20th anniversary of their original 2005–2006 tour and the band’s 45th anniversary. Produced by Live Nation, the 33-city tour begins July 17, 2026, in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, with Extreme and Tesla as support acts.
Sixx said the original Carnival of Sins run was one of the band’s biggest career highs, along with the Dr. Feelgood tour. He noted that the band wanted to revisit the concept now that technology allows them to go even bigger, specifically mentioning new visual moments like a fully immersive introduction to “In the Beginning,” which leads into “Shout at the Devil.”
“Listen, two of our biggest and most successful tours was the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ tour. And that’s not to negate ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ or any of that stuff, but that was a big peaking time for us and that album connected with people. And then the ‘Carnival Of Sins’ tour 20 years ago. That was unbelievable. It was such a fun experience. And we were just, like, ‘It’s an anniversary of that and that DVD and people still talk to us about that show.’ We were, like, ‘Well, what can you do now with technology that you couldn’t do back then?’ They didn’t have video screens back then, and anything that you could do that would encompass and take over the imagination of all the people there. And that we had an opportunity to do that in [Las] Vegas on a couple things. ‘In The Beginning’, [which] starts off the ‘Shout At The Devil’ album, we had an amazing visual presentation of ‘In The Beginning’. Mid-show, everything went dark and there’s this, basically, devil talking to you, narrating that, which then led into ‘Shout At The Devil’. And these are the kind of things, when you think about the ‘Carnival’ environment, how far we can take it — it’s super exciting for us.”
Is This the End for Mötley Crüe?
Asked whether the 2026 tour could mark the “final chapter” for Mötley Crüe, Sixx dismissed the idea. He clarified that touring in the summer allows him to perform without being away from his family during the school year.
Sixx stated that he doesn’t see himself solely as a rock star, citing his roles as a husband, father, sobriety advocate, musician, and owner of an animation company. He said he’s grateful to still be doing what he loves and that the tour is not a farewell.
“No. It’s summertime. It’s great to be able to go out and be with the band and the fans and not leave my family behind ’cause they’re in school and all this kind of stuff. So, summers are a great time for bands that have been around for a while and have families because we can go out and play and still be able to be with our families. That’s always kind of been the hardest part for me, is being separated from that. I’m a dad and a husband and a sobriety advocate and a musician before I am a rock star. Though that doesn’t equate to me, but I understand that. But I’m just saying, I don’t put all my eggs just in that basket ’cause it would feel very one-dimensional to me. I have a lot of dimension that I like to enjoy in my life. I have an animation company. That brings me amazing amount of creative joy, and great partners. And there’s so many other things that I do as well as Mötley Crüe. So I’m really grateful, dude — really grateful.”
