Sammy Hagar spent his 79th birthday doing what he does best: playing loud, playing long, and packing the Cabo Wabo Cantina for three separate Birthday Bash shows on Oct. 9, 11 and 13. The demand was staggering. According to Hagar, roughly 100,000 ticket requests came in for about 1,600 seats, which means the vast majority of fans never had a shot.
The shows themselves dug deep. The house band reunited Waboritas Vic Johnson and Mona Gnader with Kenny Aronoff and Stevie Salas, and the setlist leaned hard into Montrose and Red Rocker material, including the full 1973 Montrose debut album. Guests included Jerry Cantrell, because a Hagar birthday party apparently comes with a side of Alice in Chains.
Offstage, Hagar made the comment that’s getting the most traction: he wants to bury the hatchet with former Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen, saying“I would love to be friends again”and calling it“unification over separation.”He’s also floating an 80th birthday blowout big enough for everyone who missed out, whether that’s a stadium or a free block party in Cabo. Hagar has one more date on the books, the Stage Red Youth Music Foundation Gala on Oct. 23 in Fontana, California.
So here’s the question: would you rather see a Van Halen unification onstage, or Hagar’s 80th birthday bash in Cabo? Tell us in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.