Sammy Hagar Responds to David Lee Roth About Joining His 2024 Tour: ‘You’re Not Invited’
by Best Classic Bands Staff
“The Best of All Worlds” 2024 tour lineup: Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Jason Bonham, Michael Anthony (Photo: Timothy Norris; used with permission)
Just when it looked like Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth were going to make nice, things have taken a decided turn for the worse. On November 14, 2023, Hagar announced a 2024 tour with frequent bandmates Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Joe Satriani during an in-studio visit on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show. In a wide-ranging interview with Stern, the Red Rocker said he and the band expect to share the stage during “The Best of All Worlds” tour with many A-list stars. The talk show host asked specifically about David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen and Hagar said, “I would hope so.”
“If Alex Van Halen wants to jump out… if David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us, come on motherf**ker, you are welcome. This is about Van Halen,” said Hagar.
“If Dave goes out, he can’t sing my stuff,” he continued. [But] we can do a few of the early Van Halen songs. I have no problem with that; I did it when I was in Van Halen. This is really a celebration of all that, and we are the only ones who can do it.”
On week later, on Nov. 21, Roth responded. In an exclusive—and brief—statement to The Van Halen News Desk, the rocker wrote, “I’m ready to go. Let’s do this.” The website noted, “We have it on very good authority that Roth never got a call from Hagar… to ask if he was interested in going on tour.” It became a major headline that night in the music world including Best Classic Bands. (Ours was: David Lee Roth Responds to Sammy Hagar 2024 ‘Best of All Worlds’ Tour Invite: ‘Let’s Do This.’)
Well, not so fast, said Hagar. In an otherwise innocuous post on his Instagram later that same evening, a commenter who goes by the name “zumadogg” wrote, “Sammy, you got a problem. Roth says, ‘let’s do this,’ to joining you on tour. WAIT until you hear what he wants. You’ll regret you ever mentioned it. Plus, have you HEARD Roth sing live, recently? You’ll be forced to issue refunds. 😂”
Hagar’s response: “He’s not invited on the tour NOOOO F;()$(.g way. it was to sing a song with us somewhere like a lot of singers guitarist ect [sic] are going to do on this tour. i know better than to have him on tour again. been there done that.🤟🥂🤟🥂🤟🥂.”
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Produced by Live Nation and featuring special guests Loverboy, the 28-date tour will commence on July 13 and conclude on August 31. Tickets are available here.
In the Nov. 14 in-studio interview with Stern, the host asked, “Are there any odds that Alex Van Halen would show up on your tour and, uh, maybe join the celebration of his brother?”
“I reach out to Al about once a month for about five years now and he doesn’t get back to me. I call and leave him a voice message. I send a text. And I send an email. All three things.”
Stern asked Hagar about his relationship with Eddie Van Halen in the later years. “Ed was sick; no one really realized how sick he really was until it was over,” he said. “If there’s anything I regret, it’s ever going through any hardships with Eddie knowing he was sick like that.”
“It’s crazy to think that it’ll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the ’04 ‘Best of Both Worlds’ Tour,” said Hagar in the tour announcement. “With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We were at my Birthday Bash in Cabo for my 76th and looked at each other and high fived, like ‘let’s do it.’ We pulled out a couple of them and it was an instant lovefest with the fans from our first riffs. The music we created is going to outlive us all. They deserve to be heard so it’s time we go out and serve the fans that music, while we still can.”
Van Halen’s The Collection II box set was released on October 6 featuring newly remastered versions of the four consecutive #1 albums released during the Hagar era of Van Halen: 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995). Collectively, Anthony, Satriani and Bonham have played together in nearly every phase of Hagar’s career including Van Halen, Chickenfoot and The Circle, so fans can expect a setlist which draws from rock anthems of the last four decades, including “Finish What Ya Started,” “5150,” “Your Love is Driving Me Crazy,” “Right Now,” “Good Enough,” and more. They’ll be joined by Australian musician, Rai Thistlethwayte, on keyboard and backing vocals.
Sammy Hagar The Best of All Worlds 2024 Tour (Tickets are available here)
Jul 13 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Jul 14 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Jul 16 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Jul 19 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Jul 20 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Jul 22 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
Jul 24 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Jul 26 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Jul 27 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul 29 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Jul 31 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Aug 02 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
Aug 03 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Aug 09 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Aug 11 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 13 – Spokane, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest
Aug 14 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resort Amphitheater
Aug 16 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
Aug 17 – Concord, CA – Toyota Pavilion at Concord
Aug 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Kia Forum
Aug 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resorts Amphitheatre
Aug 22 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Aug 23 – Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug 25 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Aug 27 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Aug 28 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
Aug 30 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Aug 31 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationBased on a recent video I saw of David Lee Roth performing, I hope he doesn’t take part. He is a complete shell of what he once was, and has apparently no singing ability left unfortunately….now Alex Van Halen is a whole Nother subject. He should definitely be a part of it one way or another great drummer.
I saw VH on tour in 2012 and Dave’s vocals were not up to par at all. Almost like he was out of breath. Eddie and Alex on the other hand were both on fire.