The famous Keanu Reeves known for his films The Matrix and John Wick took on a live stage performance at the 2023 BottleRock Napa Valley Festival with his band Dogstar. The band consists of Reeves being the bassist, Robert Mailhouse as the drummer, and Bret Domrose as the singer-guitarist. After 23 years, as they came together on stage, they gathered an audience as they performed their previous albums Our Little Visionary (1996) and Happy Ending (2000) with new mixes from their upcoming album.
Dogstar was formed in 1991 when Reeves met Mailhouse at a supermarket and a friendship bloomed. Domrose joined the band in 1994, and he took the position of Gregg Miller. Miller joined the band a year later as he was the lead guitarist and vocalist but left the band in 1995.
Reeves opened up to Billboard about reuniting the band. He stated, “I missed playing together, I missed writing together, I missed doing shows together. It’s something I’ve always missed. We came to a spot where we weren’t playing anymore, and I missed it … Once we started to play, and it felt good, and really positive and creative, that’s when it was like, ‘Okay, let’s make this happen.”
Reeves was nervous performing on stage after 23 years, and his bandmate Mailhouse opened up to San Fransico Chronicle, giving him advice. Mailhosue stated, “Listen to the music. Just be present in the song, and it will go from there.”
Watch Dogstar’s performance at the BottleRock Napa Vally Festival.
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