Spafford brought it all back home for a New Year’s celebration in its native Arizona where the band reunited with former keyboardist Andrew “Red” Johnson and drummer Cameron Laforest. The reunion at the Marquee Theatre in Tempe comes in the aftermath of bassist Jordan Fairless‘ announcement that he has “no current plans to return to the stage with the band,” citing “internal divisions.” Spafford has been touring with bassist Shon Gordon (Elephantproof, Skunk Jesus) for the past several months.

New Year’s has long been seen as a time of rebirth, especially for Spafford. The band’s first-ever show was on New Year’s Eve 2009, and Red played his first-ever Spafford show exactly two years later. When it came time for Red to leave the band in 2022, it was only fitting that he played his final show on the last day of the year. Since then, Cory Schechtman has filled his shoes and—on New Year’s Eve 2024—he slid over and made room for Red.

Laforest’s exit from the band in 2019 was far less sentimental, as he and the band promptly parted ways between tours for the return of original drummer Nick Tkachyk, who went on a two-year sebatacle from 2017–2019. Whether or not Cam was aware his position in the band was only temporary, the unexpected nature of his dismissal was made all the more glaring by the new “Spafford” bass drum head he was showing off on Instagram just five days before the band announced his departure. Regardless of how they separated, Laforest and Spafford have since reunited on—you guessed it—New Year’s Eve in 2022 and 2024.

Cam was the first special guest to emerge from the wings last Tuesday, coming out in the first set to add a second drum kit to a stellar 26-minute “Hollywood” > “Broken Wing”. After vacating the stage for the core four of Tkachyk, Schechtman, Gordon, and founding guitarist Brian Moss to cover Stone Temple Pilot‘s “Plush”, Cam came back out to help close the five-song, one-hour first set with “Ain’t That Wrong”. In set two, Red returned to his rightful place on keys, getting “Comfortable” with his replacement on the second set opener before settling in with the funky groove of “Walls”. From there on out, the rest of the set was Red’s, with the pianist reviving some of his classic and sorely-missed songs “Red’s Jam”, “My Road (My Road)”, and an emotional “Slip and Squander” climax, separating the sequence with an extended Nick and Cam drum solo (or is that a duet?).

For the brief half-hour third set, Spafford went back to the basics with the current touring lineup of Tkachyk, Schectman, Gordon, and Moss. Together, the foursome embraced where Spafford is headed with the new trance version of “Pursuit of Madness” (a.k.a. “Pursuit of Trance”), as well as where the band came from with the classic “Electric Taco Stand”, taking the Marquee Theatre into the new year as the ball dropped at midnight. The recently debuted “Neutrino” served as Spafford’s first song of 2025, stitched together with a reprise of “Electric Taco Stand” to send the show into its final set break.

After glowingly introducing band members past and present, Moss instructed the band and the crowd, “Let’s burn this f–ing s–t down,” which they promptly did with a snarling “Weasel”. Spafford made up for the fairly brief third set with an elongated 37-minute encore—longer than the final set itself. With Red back on double keys and Cam on double drums, the band took its time to thoroughly explore a nearly 20-minute “The Postman” before a “Weasel” reprise capped off the marathon evening.

Check out video and audio from Spafford on New Year’s Eve featuring former keyboardist Andrew “Red” Johnson and drummer Cameron Laforest. The band will return to the road next week for a five-show swing through Florida. Find tickets and tour dates on Spafford’s website.

Spafford, Cameron Laforest — “Hollywood” > “Broken Wing” [Pro-Shot] — 12/31/24

Spafford — Marquee Theatre — Tempe, AZ — 12/31/24 — Full Video

Spafford — Marquee Theatre — Tempe, AZ — 12/31/24 — Full Audio

Setlist: Spafford | Marquee Theatre | Tempe, AZ | 12/31/24

Set One: Darkness Singularity, Hollywood [1] > Broken Wing [1], Plush (Stone Temple Pilots) > Ain’t That Wrong [1]
Set Two: Comfortable [2] > Walls [2], Reds Jam [2] > Drums [1] > My Road (My Road) [2], Slip and Squander [2]
Set Three: Pursuit Of Trance > Electric Taco Stand > Auld Lang Syne (Robert Burns) [2], Neutrino > Electric Taco Stand
Encore: Weasel [2] > The Postman [2] > Weasel [2]

[1] w/ Cameron Laforest (Double Drums)
[2] w/ Andrew Red Johnson (Double Keys) and Cameron Laforest (Double Drums)