David Lee Roth has reportedly called off a series of planned “retirement” performances in Las Vegas over COVID-19 concerns. The singer, who is 67, told the Las Vegas Review Journal that he would be performing a final run of shows in late 2021 and early 2022 before “hanging up his shoes” over health concerns, but the entire run has now been wiped off of the calendar at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.
Initially, only two shows had been postponed, pushed from December 31 and January 1 into February of 2022. But this week, organizers called off the entire run, which would have included shows on January 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, and 22 as well as the two postponed shows that would have gone off in February. According to Roth’s website, davidleeroth.com, the December and early January dates had been sold out, necessitating the addition of the final four dates in January to the run.
No official announcement of the shows cancellation has been made by the singer, venue, or promoter, other than the posting on the ticket page (screenshot above). It is unclear whether or not Roth is planning on attempting to perform a different run of retirement shows once COVID case numbers return from their current spike.
In his initial announcement of the retirement shows, Roth had cited health reasons for the decision to halt his long career of live performances. “I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” he told the newspaper. “This is the first, and only, official announcement. My doctors, my handlers, compelled me to really address that every time I go onstage, I endanger (my) future.”
Roth rose to fame as the lead singer of Van Halen during the band’s initial rise to fame, bringing a notoriously high-energy stage presence to their performances. He was with the band from 1974 through 1985, then for a brief reunion in 1996, and a longer run beginning in 2007 that spanned several tours before guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020. His “Rocks Vegas” performances were reportedly planning on using material from both his Van Halen and solo output.
“With a changing set of 26 instantly recognizable songs, including “Jump,” “Panama,” and “California Girls,” it is the sound of a generational prison break,” touted the show page on HouseOfBlues.com. “A weekend with me is interactive way beyond just music. It starts with the best food on earth. The fellas smoke their three cigarettes for the year and we all stay up way past our bedtime!”
Tickets purchased through the venue box office will be automatically refunded. Those who purchased tickets through resale marketplaces should contact their point of sale to determine their options for a refund or credit good towards future purchase.
