Former WHITESNAKE And NIGHT RANGER Guitarist JOEL HOEKSTRA To Join STEPHEN PEARCY's Solo Band For 2026 Tour

Renowned guitarist Joel Hoekstra, who has worked with WHITESNAKE, NIGHT RANGER, Cher and the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, will join RATT frontman Stephen Pearcy on the singer's "Undercover" 2026 tour.

Pearcy is currently commemorating the 40th anniversary of RATT's third album, "Dancing Undercover", released in 1986, by hitting stages across America with a blistering set of 1980s knock out hits.

Joining Stephen and Joel in Pearcy's current touring lineup are Blas Elias (SLAUGHTER, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA) on drums, Matt Thorne (ROUGH CUTT, RATT) on bass, and Erik Ferentinos on guitar.

Hoekstra will make his live debut with Pearcy on Saturday, May 9 at the Adventist Health Amphitheatre in Tulare, California.

New York-based Hoekstra currently plays for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA. Joel is also well known for his work with WHITESNAKE, Cher, NIGHT RANGER, the Broadway show "Rock Of Ages", his fill-in work with FOREIGNER, ACCEPT, his annual sets on the Monsters Of Rock cruise, recording projects like REVOLUTION SAINTS, ICONIC, viral collaboration videos with the likes of Dino Jelusick, Arnel Pineda, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and his acoustic shows with Brandon Gibbs.

Exhibiting a knack for music education, he has also been a frequent columnist for Guitar World magazine, taught at Musician's Institute, Rockstars Of Tomorrow, Guitar Workshop Plus, and has often been a counselor at Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp.

Over the years, Joel has released three instrumental solo albums and four critically acclaimed albums with JOEL HOEKSTRA's 13. Most recently, he was the guest guitarist on "Dancing With The Stars" ("hair metal" episode) and played with Cher at her Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction and the "SNL 50" homecoming concert.

In a 2023 interview with Headbangers Lifestyle, Joel spoke about how playing with Cher compares to his more usual hard rock gigs. Hoekstra said: "One of the things I always say — if you just keep an open mind and work hard, sometimes strange things work out in really cool ways.

"It was a great live experience to work with Cher," he continued. "It is different to being in a rock band; you're not on the shirt, you're not on the album [nor involved in the] writing for the album, and, let's face it, if you're going to see Cher in concert, you're going to see Cher; you're not saying, 'Hey, I'm gonna see Joel Hoekstra playing guitar for Cher.'"

Regarding the performance aspect of playing with Cher and how it was different from touring with WHITESNAKE, Joel said: "There are similarities. I'd say, with Cher, you interact more with the music director; somebody who's handling the music, because there's also dancers and this big team of people touring. [WHITESNAKE frontman] David Coverdale, he's, at times, a little bit more just one of the guys; a part of the band. There's a difference there — not that [Cher's] not a nice person and down to earth, it's just between the dynamics of the two."

Photo credit: Mike Polito