Poison cancel tour due to Bret Michaels’ financial demands, drummer claims

Posted On January 19, 2026January 19, 2026

Poison have axed plans for a tour in 2026 due to the financial demands of singer Bret Michaels.

The rock group last performed in 2022 when they opened for Def Leppard and Mötley Crüe on a stadium tour. However, they had been due to return to the road in 2026 for headline shows to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album, 1986’s Look What the Cat Dragged In.

In September 2024, Michaels confirmed he would be taking 2025 off the road to focus on his health before returning in 2026 with Poison.

He wrote on Facebook in September 2024, “In 2026, I’m excited to say it will be Poison’s 40th anniversary since the release of Look What the Cat Dragged In in 1986, so it would make perfect sense to have the possibility of a reunion in 2026.”

Michaels went on to detail that the “perfect” anniversary tour in his mind would consist of “40 awesome limited dates to go out, play real live hit songs and rock the world”.

However, no dates ever materialised. Now, drummer Rikki Rockett told Page Six in a new interview, “We had a great offer, I thought. But we left the table. It didn’t work.”

Rockett then detailed Michaels’ financial demands that made it an impossible deal to get over the line, adding, “Really what it came to was C.C., [bass player] Bobby [Dall] and I were all in, and I thought Bret was, but he wanted the lion’s share of the money, to the point where it makes it not possible to even do it.”

The drummer continued, “It’s like $6 to every one of our dollars. You just can’t work that way.”

While Rockett said he isn’t financially motivated, he couldn’t bring himself to agree to a tour that would have seen another member of the band paid significantly more than him, adding, “I don’t do this just for the money. I do have a love for this, absolutely. But at the same time, you don’t want to go out and work really hard just to make somebody else a bunch of money.”

Upon the possibility of touring with a different singer, Rockett said, “It’s not out of the question. But doing that is like surgery: it’s the last resort.”

Rockett also heaped praise on Michaels, insisting “I’m not quarreling with” him and went on to say of the vocalist, “I don’t think there’s a better frontman for Poison.”

Michaels has yet to respond to the claims.

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