On Saturday, while Sammy Hagar was in Las Vegas performing Van Halen classics during his The Best of All Worlds residency, the band’s original lead singer, David Lee Roth, was performing them also — in Maryland.
Roth hit the stage Saturday for the first time since 2020, during his headlining show at the annual M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Roth treated crowds to a 16-song set filled with Van Halen tunes.
According to setlist.fm, Roth kicked things off with “Panama,” and went on to perform such classic Van Halen tracks as “Dance the Night Away,” “Running with the Devil,” “Jamie’s Cryin"” “Hot for Teacher” and “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love,” along with the band’s Kinks cover, “You Really Got Me,” “And The Cradle Will Rock,” “Everybody Wants Some” and more.
He ended the night with “Jump,” Van Halen’s only #1 single.
The M3 Rock Festival set was the singer’s first public performance since March 2020, when he opened for KISS in Lubbock, Texas. A Las Vegas residency that was supposed to begin in December 2021 was billed as his final shows, but it was subsequently canceled.
Roth has one other show booked for this year: He’s set to play The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California, on Sept. 12.
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