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Van Halen’s David Lee Roth Cancels Two of His Farewell Concerts

Van Halen’s David Lee Roth has reportedly canceled two of his farewell performances in Las Vegas due to COVID-19 concerns.

According to USA Today, David Lee Roth notably canceled both his New Year’s Eve and New Year’s performance at the House of Blues located at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. A statement from Roth said the cancelations were due to “unforeseen circumstances related to COVID.” Ticketholders for the events will automatically be refunded. 

The media outlet also reports that David Lee Roth is still scheduled for seven shows throughout the month. The performances will start on January 5th. The musician’s spokesperson also confirmed that the January 5th performance will occur as planned. Roth was set to perform for various shows that would end on January 8th but decided to add shows for January 14th-15th and January 21st-22nd. 

As previously reported, David Lee Roth announced his retirement in October 2021. During an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the rocker stated, “I am throwing in the shows. I’m retiring. This is the first, and only, official announcement. You’ve got the news. Share it with the world.”

David Lee Roth also declared that he’s not going to explain the statement. “The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.”

Wolf Van Halen, the son of the late Eddie Van Halen, also shared his thoughts about David Lee Roth’s retirement. “One hell of a run, Dave. Thankful and proud to be a small part of your amazing journey.”

Roth notably was the lead singer of Van Halen from 1974 to 1985. In 1996, he returned to the famous rock band and again from 2006 until the band officially disbanded in 2020 following Eddie Van Halen’s death.

David Lee Roth Talks Van Halen’s Legacy 

During a December 2018 interview with Vogue, David Lee Roth spoke about the legacy that Van Halen now has. “Our music is timeless and can be played by Filipino bar bands at Hasidic weddings flawlessly. As soon as you hear [Dance the Night Away], every female wrist grabs every male wrist and goes, ‘Get up – you’re dancing.’ Our music transcends genres.”

Roth also spoke about how he was born with a five-and-a-half octave voice. “I was taught early on from my singing coaches when I was 15 or 16, ‘Sing with the girls.’ To me, that’s Chaka Khan, Aretha [Franklin]. They also taught me to practice foreign accents and to sing in other languages.”

In regards to his heroes growing up, Roth goes on to add that his picks were not typical rockers. “They all wore suits to work. They didn’t have much to do with the frontman in Led Zeppelin, much as you might expect. [Each] had more to do with Miles Davis, [Akira] Kurosawa, and P.T. Barnum.”