Sammy Hagar has once more expressed his opinion on the potential all-star VAN HALEN tribute concert, stating his desire to perform alongside Alex Van Halen one last time.
On a recent episode of “THAT Rocks!” – a weekly YouTube series presented by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine, and Don Jamieson – Sammy Hagar was asked about the possibility of a tribute concert featuring the remaining members of VAN HALEN, to which he responded: “It’s the same old story. It’s the same old f**king story. Alex won’t respond to me. I reach out to him. I haven’t done it in a long time now, ’cause it’s, like, ‘Hey, you wanna talk to me? Call me.’ But there’s not going to be a VAN HALEN reunion.
“First of all, it’s too late,” he continued. “I’ve already said it a million times — Wolfie [Eddie Van Halen‘s son and former VAN HALEN bassist Wolfgang Van Halen] is doing such a great job with what he’s doing, and he would be the perfect guy [to play with us at a tribute concert], so that’s out. Dave [Lee Roth, original VAN HALEN singer] and I are still alive, but there’s no way he would cooperate with me, so if he goes out by himself, that’s not a VAN HALEN reunion; that’s half a VAN HALEN reunion. If I go out by myself without him, it’s a half a VAN HALEN reunion.
“Only good news about that is that I could sing his songs just fine. But Mike and I are like this [crosses fingers], and if Al wanted to come and play with us… I would love to play with Al. I said it recently, that I would love to play music with Al. I would like to write a song with Al. I would like to go in the studio and jam with Al. But the thought of a VAN HALEN reunion without Eddie, no, there’s no such thing.”
Since April 2022, there has been no advancement in planning for a potential VAN HALEN tribute show. This information came to light when ex-METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted disclosed to The Palm Beach Post that he was approached by the VAN HALEN drummer about six months prior to play bass for the venture. Newsted admitted to agreeing to travel to California to jam with Alex Van Halen and guitarist Joe Satriani to gauge if it felt right, but eventually concluded that replicating VAN HALEN‘s legacy would be unfeasible.
