David Lee Roth returns to the stage amid Van Halen drama

Diamond Dave is backmost successful the unrecorded business.

David Lee Roth performed his archetypal nationalist performance successful much than 5 years Saturday nighttime astatine the M3 euphony festival successful Columbia, Md. — a 75-minute acceptable of classics by his aged set Van Halen, according to Rolling Stone, successful which helium was accompanied by a set that included guitarist Al Estrada and 4 backing vocalists.

According to a acceptable database published by Ultimate Classic Rock, Roth, 70, opened the performance with Van Halen’s “Panama” and went connected to play “You Really Got Me,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” “Hot for Teacher” and different Van Halen hits earlier closing with the band’s Hot 100-topping “Jump.”

Ultimate Classic Rock reported that Roth joked onstage that the amusement marked “the extremity of my archetypal retirement” — a notation to his announcement successful precocious 2021 that helium was calling it quits owed to unspecified wellness issues. Early Monday, Ticketmaster listed much than a twelve upcoming shows by Roth starting July 22 astatine the California Mid-State Fair successful Paso Robles.

Roth’s astir caller amusement earlier Saturday’s was a backstage 2023 firm gig for Home Depot, according to Rolling Stone; earlier that, helium opened for Kiss connected a circuit that ended successful March 2020 amid wide cancellations and postponements related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The vocalist was scheduled to play a residency successful Las Vegas successful aboriginal 2022 but called disconnected the shows earlier they happened.

Saturday’s show came arsenic Sammy Hagar — who replaced Roth arsenic Van Halen’s frontman successful 1985 — has been talking publically astir Van Halen, whose founding guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, died successful 2020.

Last month, up of Hagar’s quality astatine Indio’s Stagecoach festival, Hagar told The Times that helium and Eddie had discussed a reunion earlier the guitarist’s decease and that Eddie had asked him not to speech astir the plans with Eddie’s brother, Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen.

Hagar went connected to tell Rolling Stone that helium thinks Alex — who made nary notation of Hagar successful his 2024 memoir — is aggravated astatine him due to the fact that “I’m retired doing it … and helium can’t.” After Stagecoach, Hagar launched a Vegas residency astatine the Park MGM.

Van Halen’s last performance took spot successful October 2015 astatine the Hollywood Bowl — the 2nd of two dates successful the band’s Los Angeles hometown to wrapper a circuit featuring Roth connected vocals and Eddie’s lad Wolfgang Van Halen connected bass.