Journey‘s ongoing farewell tour has once again featured a tribute performer, only this time he replaced a member of the regular line-up.
Steve Murphy, who’s part of New York-area group called the Hitmen, played the entire Thursday night show in Cleveland in place of Deen Castronovo. “We’re gonna let you in on a little secret,” Jonathan Cain said on stage at Rocket Arena. “This is Steve Murphy’s first gig with the band tonight. Can you believe this drummer, right here?”
Castronovo also left Journey’s most recent show, on Tuesday in Boston – but longtime Journey drum tech Steve Toomey filled in. No explanation has yet been given for Castronovo’s struggles, even as fan speculation quickly ramped up. Strangely, he posted a tour photo on Thursday morning before the concert – but hasn’t commented again.
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These aren’t Castronovo’s first recent absences on Journey’s Final Frontier Tour. He abruptly left the stage in early October during a stop at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Castronovo had to be helped to the backstage area. Toomey replaced Castronovo back then, too.
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Again, no explanation was given. Castronovo returned two nights later as this tour reached San Antonio, Texas. “Deen was back in rare form,” Neal Schon later enthused on social media.
Murphy’s tribute band plays on the same circuit as Steve Perry impersonator Hugo Valenti, who Journey earlier brought out for two 2026 shows in Japan during the Final Frontier Tour. The difference: Current Journey frontman Arnel Pineda still performed that night.
Murphy’s most significant resume item is touring with the Alan Parsons Live Project. Ironically, he’s also worked with Steve Augeri, who originally replaced former Journey frontman Steve Perry in the late-’90s. Murphy has posted his own covers of several Journey songs along the way.
Castronovo is in his second stint as Journey’s drummer and has more recently taken on occasional lead vocal duties. Murphy did in Cleveland, as well, singing Perry’s parts on “Just the Same Way” and “Anytime.”
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Murphy earlier had a lengthy stint in a south Florida group called Nobody’s Fault after signing with Mercury Records as part of Company of Wolves. He was congratulated later in the evening by his regular bandmates in the Hitmen. “We’re all so proud,” they said. “We always knew he was a very special talent.”
Other notable associations include Jack Bruce. Murphy played with the late Cream legend on the Alan Parsons-led Walk Down Abbey Road Tour and then on the Cream of Jack Bruce Tour, both in the early ’00s.
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Castronovo was part of the offshoot band Bad English with Cain and Schon before replacing Steve Smith in Journey – twice. Castronovo’s first tenure lasted from 1998-2015; he’s been back in the lineup since 2021.
Valenti performed “Faithfully” during Journey’s Aug. 29 stop at the Greatest Rock Fukuoka Festival at Mizuho PayPay Dome and then again on Sept. 1 at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Valenti also sang the Escape deep cut “Keep on Runnin'” during the second show. He hasn’t joined them again.
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
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