David Lee Roth plays first full show in more than five years
Van Halen singer David Lee Roth performed his first full solo concert in over five years on May 3rd.
Roth took to the M3 Rock Festival stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. The singer opened with the Van Halen song ‘Panama’, and finished with ‘Jump’, both of which he had recently released solo versions of. The third song in his setlist was a cover of ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks.
Roth will also perform in Saratoga, California, on September 12th as part of the Mountain Winery’s 67th Summer Concert Series. However, in January 2022, Roth cancelled the remaining farewell shows he was set to play in Las Vegas after he vowed to retire from performing live.
Nonetheless, on May 3rd, he played an entire Van Halen set for the vast crowd. The frontman originally left Van Halen to pursue a solo career following the success of the band’s album, 1984. However, he returned for a stint in 1996, before taking over from 2007 until 2020. Despite this, the band had not toured since 2015.
In 2020, Roth was interviewed by StarTribune and admitted, “At my age, everything is a possible farewell tour.” He also added, “This kind of music requires the kind of energy that people in their 20s bring.” Yet Roth seems cheery and upbeat on fan-recorded footage at the show.
Far Out recently wrote of Roth’s unparalleled frontmanship: “Roth’s sheer swagger and stage presence made them bonafide rock stars. The kind that may have cut their teeth touring with Journey and Black Sabbath, but not as adoring disciples, just happy to pay tribute.
They completely blew the hoary old legends off stage night after night and by the end of the 1970s were poised to be the defining hard rock band of the next decade.”
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