VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth played his first full solo concert in more than five years Saturday night (May 3) at the 2025 edition of the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
Roth‘s setlist was as follows, according to Setlist.fm:
01. Panama (VAN HALEN song)
02. Drop Dead Legs (VAN HALEN song)
03. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover)
04. Unchained (VAN HALEN song)
05. Dance The Night Away (VAN HALEN song)
06. Runnin’ With The Devil (VAN HALEN song)
07. Mean Street (VAN HALEN song)
08. Atomic Punk (VAN HALEN song)
09. And The Cradle Will Rock… (VAN HALEN song)
10. Jamie’s Cryin’ (VAN HALEN song)
11. I’m The One (VAN HALEN song)
12. Everybody Wants Some!! (VAN HALEN song)
13. Romeo Delight (VAN HALEN song)
14. Hot For Teacher (VAN HALEN song)
15. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love (VAN HALEN song)
16. Jump (VAN HALEN song)
Fan-filmed video of the performance can be seen below.
Roth will also perform in Saratoga, California on September 12 as part of the Mountain Winery’s 67th Summer Concert Series.
Roth originally left VAN HALEN to pursue a solo career following the success of the band’s album “1984”, but he returned for a stint in 1996 and then took over as VAN HALEN‘s frontman again from 2007 until 2020, although the band had not toured since 2015.
In recent months, Roth has been releasing solo versions of several VAN HALEN classics, including “Jump”, “Unchained”, “Everybody Wants Some!!”, “You Really Got Me”, “Dance The Night Away”, “Panama” and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”. The tracks were laid down on May 3, 2022 during a session at Henson Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. Joining Roth in the studio were Al Estrada on guitar, Ryan Wheeler on bass and Francis Valentino on drums. A total of 14 songs were recorded in two hours. The music and the vocals were tracked live with “no samples” and without the pitch-correction technology Auto-Tune.
In January 2022, Roth canceled the remaining farewell shows he was set to play in Las Vegas after he vowed to retire from performing live.
In a statement, event organizers said the cancelations were made “due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows.”
When Roth‘s Vegas residency was first announced, organizers promised “a changing set of 26 instantly recognizable songs, including ‘Jump’, ‘Panama’ and ‘California Girls…’“
In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading across the globe.
Roth‘s last Vegas residency kicked off on January 8, 2020 with a 15-song set that included 10 VAN HALEN classics and five songs from his solo career. Backing the singer were lead guitarist Al Estrada from the VAN HALEN tribute band ERUPTION, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler, keyboardist Danny Wagner and drummer Mike Mussleman.
Roth explained that he chose Vegas as the place to debut his new band because “this is where you come to celebrate and do the victory dance, whatever that means to you.”
In a February 2020 interview with StarTribune, Roth openly wondered whether his first tour since VAN HALEN completed its 2015 run of shows would be the last time he would perform.
“I’m calling it ‘The Last Tour’,” he said at the time, “and then underneath it in parentheses: ‘Unless It Isn’t’. … At my age, everything is a possible farewell tour.”
“It’s been a long great trip, a long great run,” he continued. “But this kind of music requires the kind of energy that people in their 20s bring. You know what NFL stands for: Not For Long. It’s similar in rock. I remember the days when we would stand around and say, ‘Let’s go have a cigarette.’ And that’s what we did: Four guys having one cigarette. I remember those days. They go by fast, so enjoy them while you’re in them.”
In February/March 2020, Roth performed as the opening act for the North American leg of KISS‘s “End Of The Road” farewell tour.
Source: blabbermouth.net
