Justin Sargent puts it simply: “It feels pretty damn good!” The 40 year old from New Jersey is the new singer in multi-million selling hard rock band Skid Row.
“It’s a natural fit,” he says. “I’m in heaven. It’s a dream.”
To celebrate this new milestone in Skid Row’s career, it’s the new guy who speaks first to MusicRadar – before bassist and founding member Rachel Bolan gives his side of the story on behalf of the band.
Sargent has previously worked as an actor and singer on Broadway. He says of his role in Skid Row: “It just perpetually keeps being the coolest thing. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done. And I’ve done some pretty cool stuff.”
Rachel Bolan is one of the band’s three remaining founding members alongside guitarists Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo and Scotti Hill. Drummer Rob Hammersmith has served since 2010.
The last singer to perform live with Skid Row was Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, who helped them out as a guest star after their Swedish frontman Erik Grönwall was forced to leave the band due to health issues.
The biggest challenge for Justin Sargent is to perform the hit songs that were originally recorded with larger-than-life singer Sebastian Bach during Skid Row’s glory days in the late ’80s and early ’90s – the heavy metal anthems Youth Gone Wild and Monkey Business, and the power ballads 18 And Life and I Remember You.
But Sargent promises: “I know I can not only bring it – but bring it consistently.”
Skid Row’s first recording with Sargent is a cover of The Who’s 1971 classic Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Beyond that, the band are writing and demoing, with a slate of shows to be announced.
In early 2026 the band had invited singers to audition online via music retailer Sweetwater, but as it turned out, they found Justin Sargent by chance – when their manager Robby Hoffman attended a charity gig in New Jersey.
“I do this big charity gig every year,” Sargent says, “and Robby came to see the event. I got an email the next day, saying, ‘Hey, we’re looking for a vocalist for Skid Row. Are you a fan?’ I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? Of course I’m a fan! Yes. This is unbelievable.’”
Tell us about the moment when you first heard that you’d got the gig with Skid Row.
“It’s one of those things where during the entire process, every step of the way, I kept saying, ‘If this is as far as it goes, this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life.’ Getting in a room with the guys, going through the setlist, I was just like, ‘This is the coolest thing.’
But getting that phone call, where they were all on for like a FaceTime situation, Rachel just said, ‘I’ve got one last question before we move to the next step…’ Then he was like, ‘How would you like to be the next singer of Skid Row!?’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God! Yeah!’ It was just a very cool moment.
It goes without saying that this job comes with an element of online judgment because of the volatility of the vocal position.
“No, really?! You gotta ignore it. You gotta just shut it off. I’m considering buying a flip phone, just to make sure there’s no temptation, you know what I mean?”
Another way to look at it is you’re part of a long lineage of talented vocalists.
“Man, it’s a really fun and interesting perspective to have. I get to look back at everybody, study, and take in what they’ve done. And they’ve all done it so differently, you know?
“But at the same time, it’s all been very much Skid Row. A credit to the guys is that the vocalist may change, but there’s an undeniable Skid Row quality. I’m honoured to carry that forward.”
How important was personality in the decision-making process?
“They wanted to make sure that we melded artistically. But there’s also the dynamic of, ‘Can we hang?’ That’s a hard thing to achieve off the bat, but every time we get together, I feel like I’ve known the guys for a long time, and my cortisol levels drop.”
According to Rachel, it was your idea to record a cover of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again, which is your first official recording with Skid Row.
“I was so surprised when they said, ‘Yes.’ It was one of those things where I was just like, ‘I’m going to throw this out there.’ My parents raised me on classic rock, and so when we were all brainstorming about doing a cover I was like, ‘They’re never going to go for this.’ But their reaction was immediate. They said, ‘That’s a great idea. That’s what we’re gonna do.’ Even now, I get kind of emotional talking about it. It was such a cool experience.”
Rachel, Snake, and Scotti have been busy writing songs during their layoff. Have you started working on any new music?
“So, they’ve been hard at work writing new material. I’ve been down to kind of lay some demo vocals down, and I’ll tell you what, man: it’s really cool. Not only is it very much Skid Row, but there’s this whole feeling of the next chapter. The sound is really cool. I can’t wait for people to hear what’s been cooking.”
What’s the toughest classic Skid Row song to pull off?
“Songs like 18 And Life, Monkey Business and I Remember You are just unrelenting, man.
“With those songs, you have to nail them for the audience every single night. All those songs… those are the ones that are the earmarks for people to go, ‘Let’s see. Oh, there it is. Okay.’
“Then they’re saying, ‘Okay, let’s see how he does on this big part. Oh, there it is… he’s got it.’ It’s that kind of thing. But I think that’s where my background really has a big benefit because I’m very used to consistency and delivering over and over and over again.”
And have you considered how you’ll feel when you step behind the microphone for the first time in concert?
“Oh, my God! Every single day, man! You kidding me? Every single day since I got that phone call. I imagine it as a dream fulfilled. That’s the best way I can put it. And knowing that I get to do it perpetually afterward… It’s just unbelievable. This is my job. This is what I’m here for. This is priority – and I’m not going anywhere.”
When Rachel Bolan is asked whether Skid Row had considered a reunion with their former singer Sebastian Bach, he says flatly: “It’s never gonna happen.”
Now, after 1500 singers had submitted auditions via the Sweetwater campaign, Bolan is more than happy to have Justin Sargent fronting the band.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Bolan says, “because we did that huge campaign, and there’s really a lot of talented singers out there. Some were great, but not right for Skid Row. Then, there were some on the outside of the whole thing that people suggested.
“With Justin, our manager Robby Hoffman happened to be at a show, and Justin got up, jammed, and sang. Robby immediately called me, and it was like Back To The Future. ‘Hey, here’s that sound you’re looking for!’”
What was it like initially meeting with Justin?
“We had him down months and months ago. He came into the room, and he’s like, ‘I live in Jersey…’ I’m like, ‘Man… he’s from New Jersey? We’ve been listening to stuff from all over the world, and here you are, like a few exits up the parkway!’”
Did you offer Justin the gig then and there?
“Well, when he came in – and we’d sent him five songs, but he learned the whole set, which we weren’t expecting – we were floored. But we had a lot of people to audition still, and we wanted to keep our word and do our due diligence.”
So how and when did you finally decide Justin was Skid Row’s new singer?
“We always kept circling around to Justin. We said, ‘Hey, dude, can you come in again?’ We kept doing that, and every time he was there it was just like, ‘I feel like I’ve known this guy since I was 16.’ Maybe it’s a Jersey thing… who knows?
“But it worked out really well. The guy has such a powerful voice, and fits perfectly. He’s cool dude, and so now here we are. Finally, we can make an announcement. Even my family didn’t know! They were like, ‘You found a singer yet?’ I’m like, ‘We’re getting close.’”
When it comes to vocals, Sebastian Bach is the benchmark for Skid Row. How does Justin stack up?
“Justin has a huge range and huge power. There’s nothing that we do that’s difficult for him. I don’t know what else I could say about the guy. There was nothing that we threw at him that he couldn’t sing with ease.”
As far as Sebastian goes, why have you avoided a reunion?
“Is this a riddle? Everyone knows the answer: it’s to get to the other side! You know, the past is the past, man. We’re in the here and now. That was a decision we made three decades ago.”
The idea of reuniting for a bigger paycheck doesn’t appeal?
“We’re getting huge paychecks. We’ve got a bunch of shows booked for next year – and we’re getting huge paychecks. So, we’re doing it for the right reasons, and getting paid well for it.”
So, it’s about the music, and by the sound of it, reuniting with Sebastian wouldn’t be about the music, and wouldn’t be for the right reasons…
“It’s always about the music. We’re moving forward. It’s never going to happen. That’s all I can give you, man. We’re Skid Row, and we’re in this to play music, go on tour, and that’s what we’re doing.”
On that note, you’ve recorded your first music with Justin, a cover of The Who’s Won’t Get Fooled Again.
“We have songs written, but we’ve been planning on doing some covers, but couldn’t decide on one. We got on Zoom, and it was actually Justin who brought it up. He goes, ‘Are you guys Who fans?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, we all are.’ He goes, ‘What about Won’t Get Fooled Again?’
“As a bass player, I’ve always loved that song, so I was, ‘Yeah! Let’s do that song.’ We were all throwing songs around; Justin suggested that, and it was the perfect fit. We all learned it, and made an arrangement that shortens it a little because it’s almost eight minutes long.”
With the cover in the can, what can you say about Justin’s chops?
“I talked to [producer] Nick Raskulinecz afterward, and he said, ‘Man, I’m exhausted. This last week and a half was crazy.’ He goes, ‘If Justin wasn’t as good as he is, we probably wouldn’t have finished as quickly as we did.’ For a guy like Nick, who has worked with the likes of Amy Lee and Lzzy Hale, that’s a pretty huge compliment.”
Are Skid Row working on the next album?
“We have been writing, and we’ll eventually record the songs we’ve written. We’re trying to stockpile because in the downtime, Snake and I would get together and write. And I’d also get together with Scotti, and I’d write on my own. It’s just a matter of us all getting in a room, going through everything, demo it up, and getting enough to do a record.”
Skid Row have had many lead singers over the years. How do you feel about having Justin in the fold as you move forward?
“The outlook is bright. We can’t wait to hit the road. We have a bunch of shows lined up. The last two and a half years have been mind-numbing. You want to get out there with your bros and play the songs you wrote, so we’re super excited about it. We can’t wait for the first show.”
