Keanu Reeves reunited with his band Dogstar for their first performance in more than 20 years over the weekend.
The indie-rock trio performed at the BottleRock Napa Valley festival on Saturday, marking its first live set in 23 years.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Reeves and his bandmates Robert Mailhouse and Bret Domrose played a mix of songs from their earlier albums, 1996’s Our Little Visionary and 2000’s Happy Ending, as well as new songs from their forthcoming record.
“Today was like our first kind of foray out,” Reeves, who plays bass guitar, told the outlet. “The band wants to play. We have a record, so we’re just kind of trying to figure out the best way to marry those two things.”
The John Wick actor admitted that he was nervous before the performance and Mailhouse, the drummer, gave him some advice.
“He was just super positive,” he shared. “He was like, ‘Listen to the music. Just be present in the song, and it will go from there.'”
Reeves, Mailhouse and Domrose kept in touch and met up for private jam sessions over the years, and they officially announced their comeback on social media last summer.
“It just organically happened,” Domrose explained. “There was never a big blowout, like, ‘I’m never talking to you again!’ We took a break and it was a really long break.”
Mailhouse added, “We love playing and we love writing. We came back together with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. And as that progressed, it was like, ‘OK, let’s make a record.'”
They are currently finalising plans for a headlining tour in support of the upcoming album.