eddie van halen
More than five years since his last show, David Lee Roth has not only made a triumphant return, but reversed his decision to retire from the touring circuit.
Roth announced his 2025 tour plans on Monday (May 6), with a series of 21 live appearances set to take place over the summer.
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Launching at the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles on July 22, Roth will traverse the country until wrapping up his series of shows on Sept. 14 back in California at Napa’s Blue Note Summer Sessions.
Roth’s tour announcement comes just days after he made his first appearance on the live stage in five years on Saturday (May 3) at the M3 Rock Festival at Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. The 16-song set featured Roth leaning entirely on his tenure as frontman for Van Halen, save for a cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” which was issued as Van Halen’s debut single in 1978.
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The show was his first since March 2020 when he appeared as the opening act for KISS in Lubbock, Texas as part of their End of the Road Tour.
In early 2021, Roth announced that he would be officially retiring following a residency at Las Vegas’ House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in 2022. “I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth said. “This is the first, and only, official announcement. You’ve got the news. Share it with the world.”
“I’m not going to explain the statement,” he added. “The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.” Ultimately, Roth’s Las Vegas residency would be cancelled, ostensibly leaving him with unfinished business until his return to the stage this month.
Roth first rose to fame as the vocalist for Van Halen from 1974 until 1985, appearing on their first six records before embarking on a solo career. Roth would be replaced by Sammy Hagar, though would return for a one-off appearance in 1996 before Gary Cherone took over vocal duties.
Following another brief stint from Hagar up the front from 2003 until 2005, Roth resumed his role in the band from 2007 until the band’s dissolution in 2020 following the death of Eddie Van Halen.
David Lee Roth – 2025 Tour Dates
July 22 – California Mid-State Fair, Paso Robles, CAJuly 31 – Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, FLAug. 3 – Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Event Center, Tampa, FLAug. 6 – Hard Rock Live Bristol, Bristol, VAAug. 8 – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJAug. 10 – The Paramount, Huntington, NYAug. 13 – Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Hampton Beach, NHAug. 15 – Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NYAug. 17 – The Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PAAug. 19 – Hard Rock Live Northern India, Gary, INAug. 21 – Hard Rock Outdoor Arena, Cincinnati, OHAug. 23 – Doquoin State Fairgrounds, Doquoin, ILAug. 25 – The Factory, Chesterfield, MOAug. 27 – Grinders KC, Kansas City, MOAug. 29 – Lucas Oil Live at Winstar, Thackerville, OKAug. 31 – Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tulsa, Catoosa, OKSept. 4 – Gila River Resorts & Casinos, Chandler, AZSept. 8 – Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay, San Diego, CASept. 10 – Pechanga Resort & Casino, Temecula, CASept. 12 – Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CASept. 14 – Blue Note Summer Sessions, Napa, CA
Sammy Hagar likely won’t be listing Alex Van Halen‘s new memoir Brothers atop his favorite books of 2024.
Hagar, who fronted Van Halen from 1985 to 1996, and again from 2003 to 2005, took to social media to share his thoughts on the recent book from his former bandmate, labelling the omission of his time within the band as “blasphemy”.
Published in October, Brothers largely focuses on the veteran California outfit’s first 12 years, effectively stopping the Van Halen story after the departure of vocalist David Lee Roth, and overlooking not only Hagar’s time as vocalist, but the temporary lineup featuring Gary Cherone, and their ultimate reunion with Roth.
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“What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Alex Van Halen told Billboard in October. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played. We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything.”
Sharing a photo of himself and guitarist Eddie Van Halen from 1991 on Instagram earlier this week, Hagar began responding to comments on the post, including one who opined that “most purists believe VH ended with DLR”.
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“It could have [ended], my friend, but instead we went on to sell over 50 million records for [a] No. 1 album [then] sold out every building and stadium in the world for a whole decade,” Hagar responded. “That never happened again.”
IVan Halen experienced some of their biggest successes with their album 1984, which featured the Hot 100-topping single “Jump”, would peak at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and become their highest charting release of the Roth era. Their next album, 1986’s 5150, was their first released with Hagar on vocals, and was the first of four consecutive No. 1 albums released with Hagar at the helm.
Continuing his response, Hagar contended that Alex Van Halen was doing both the band and his late brother a disservice by leaving the era out of the memoir.
“Alex is not doing his brother’s musical legacy justice by not acknowledging all the No. 1 albums and some great music Eddie and I wrote together — not Alex — but Eddie and I wrote together,” Hagar continued. “To not acknowledge [those] 10 years of music is blasphemy to his brother’s musicianship, songwriting and legacy.”
Despite his harsh words regarding Alex Van Halen’s book, Hagar recently told Rolling Stone it’s “on [his] bucket list” that he and his former bandmate are able to make peace at some point.
“I understand he probably couldn’t have done the whole era in one book. It would’ve been the Bible, the dictionary, so maybe he’s got plans for a Volume 2. Who knows?” said Hagar.
“I want to be friends, though. I don’t want to play in a band with Al. I’m not asking for that. I can see that he’s not capable of doing that. If he was, I’d be happy to play with him, but it’s not what I’m looking for. I just want to friends again.”
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