A lot of things happened during the pandemic. We were ordered to wear masks. A governor known to violate his own executive orders won re-election. Broadway shut down, reopened, then sporadically shut down again.

One thing that hasn’t happened is an official tour by Bon Jovi.

That’s about to change. The band has announced a 15 date tour that takes place entirely in April with the first show set for April 1 in Omaha, Nebraska and the last on April 30 in Nashville, Tennessee.

But hold on to your beach badge and pork roll egg and cheese, because absolutely no dates will be in Jersey.

That’s kind of a big deal. The band was formed in Sayreville in 1983 and the Garden State has supported their beloved band ever since. They’ve sold over 130 million records, performed in over 50 countries and were inducted into Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Through it all New Jersey stayed loyal.

So where’s the love?

Who knows. It could be a lot of things from venue availability to trending rates of COVID-19 (all 21 counties are awash in a sea of red, very high transmission) to who knows what.

This isn’t one of those situations where Jersey girls (and guys) only have to cross a river and catch them at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo or New York’s Madison Square Garden either. The nearest cities to New Jersey at any point in this April tour are Raleigh and Charlotte in North Carolina.

Did he forget his own song?

That video reminds us of Jon Bon Jovi’s many charitable acts, such as his Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, Toms River and Newark. So we won’t be too hard on the band.

Since you won’t be seeing them live in their home state, here’s some Bon Jovi fun facts to get you through.

The band almost named itself Johnny Electric.

Ewwww. Can you imagine? It was a friend who suggested using a last name the way Van Halen did. Whoever this friend was, thank the rock gods for you.

Did you know Jon Bon Jovi is a blood relative of Frank Sinatra?

Sinatra was Jon’s great uncle on his father’s side. Holy Jersey street cred!

When you often see Jon wearing sunglasses it’s not that he’s too cool from the room.

He has an eye sensitivity to cigarette smoke and sunlight, and in spring has terrible allergies and hay fever.

His favorite movie is “The Godfather.”

They were the last band to play the old Wembley Stadium before it was demolished.

If you are a superfan and don’t mind traveling tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 14.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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