^{The Red Rocker is bringing his star-studded rock anthology to Las Vegas, where he probably belongs. (Image: Leah Steiger)}

If the party is a good one, why stop? One of the top tours of 2024 will keep the music going in 2025, and it will all be a part of the schedule at Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas next spring. One of the ultimate performers in the world of rock, Sammy Hagar, is bringing his musical brothers along to offer “The Best of Both Worlds” from April 30 - May 17. 

Hagar, along with his former Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony, will give a teaser of their new offering on Sunday at halftime during the Las Vegas Raiders game vs. the Denver Broncos. 

Tickets On Sale Beginning Friday

While presales will begin on Tuesday for CITI Card members, ticket sales to the general public will not start until Friday (Nov. 22) at 10 am PT. There will be several special packages for the occasion, with a Pre-Show VIP Reception each night (purchased in conjunction with a show ticket), special food and beverage offerings, and the ultimate, “The Best of All Worlds – Stays in Vegas” package.

If you’re popping for “The Best of All Worlds – Stays in Vegas” package, you will be getting priceless memorabilia and memories for your expenditure. 

For those who buy the whole enchilada, you will be seated in the first ten rows of Dolby Live at Park MGM, giving you an up close and personal experience to witness the show. Another part of the package is an “old school” item – a “The Best of All Worlds – Stays in Vegas” tour jacket not offered anywhere else. Add in a branded double playing card set, a dice set, special lanyards, and a commemorative ticket, and it will be a memorable show. These packages are extremely limited and will be offered beginning Nov. 22. 

“I'm so looking forward to this residency and being able to stay in one place so we can get the sound and production completely dialed in,” Hagar said during the announcement of the residency. “It also allows the band to experiment with the setlist every night – that’s why it’s going to be exclusive to Las Vegas. Instead of traveling all day on tour when there's no time to rehearse and make changes. I plan on digging deeper into the Van Halen catalog, and my solo career, Montrose and Chickenfoot, as well. The fans are in for a lot of surprises.”

“The Best of All Worlds” is a salute to Hagar’s lengthy career in the entertainment industry and a farewell to Eddie Van Halen, who passed in 2020 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Hagar says he'll be performing music from each of his significant stages, with an emphasis on the Van Halen era. Rumor has it that this current version of the band – Hagar, bassist  Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, drummer Kenny Aronoff, and keyboardist Rai Thistlewayte – is in the studios at this time, meaning new music could be in the offering for those who attend the Las Vegas residency at Park MGM. 

To celebrate the new residency, Hagar and his wingman Anthony will be performing at halftime of Sunday’s Las Vegas Raiders game against their archrival Denver Broncos. For more information, visit Ticketmaster or Hagar’s personal website.

Spanning Fifty-Plus Years of Excellence

Wherever Hagar has gone, he has taken quality and excellence with him. Many might not remember (it was the Seventies, after all) that Hagar was the vocalist for guitarist Ronnie Montrose’s eponymous band. Responsible for such classics as “Bad Motor Scooter” and “Rock Candy,” Hagar spent his formative years learning the rock and roll lifestyle in the early Seventies. 

Hagar pumped out many excellent solo albums, putting his name on the map of the rock world. From Hagar’s late Seventies efforts Street Machine and Danger Zone, Hagar would begin to establish himself as one of the best rockers in the game (and songwriters – he penned “I’ve Done Everything for You” made popular by Rick Springfield). In the Eighties, “The Red Rocker” would hit a trio of home runs, with Standing Hampton (1982), Three Lock Box (1982), and VOA (1984) piquing the interest of one of the greatest guitarists of all time. 

After meeting in the late 1970s, when he admitted he was a huge fan of Montrose and Hagar, Eddie Van Halen was looking for a new vocalist following David Lee Roth’s departure from Van Halen in 1985.

He turned to Hagar to fill those shoes, rocketing the band into a level of superstardom that they had not previously reached. All four of the albums released by Van Halen with Hagar behind the mic – 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995) – would reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart, something the band had not previously achieved.

All was not good in the Van Halen world, however. Hagar would be unceremoniously dismissed in 1996, but it didn’t slow him down in the slightest. Forming several bands to get his creative juices out, including The Waboritas, Chickenfoot, and The Circle (often joined by his close friend Anthony, who was forced out of Van Halen in 2006), Hagar has continued to be a force in the world of rock throughout the 21^st century.

The band who will be performing during “The Best of All Worlds” Tour is one of those previously mentioned groups. After performing much of the 2024 tour with drummer Jason Bonham, the son of the legendary late John “Bonzo” Bonham of Led Zeppelin fame, a family illness pulled him away from the tour. In stepped former John Mellencamp drummer Aronoff, who also used to play with Hagar, Anthony, and Satriani in Chickenfoot. That is the band that will be performing this spring in Las Vegas.