Sammy Hagar’s Las Vegas plans intact; Satriani joins U.S. tour

The lesson here is, ya gotta account for Las Vegas. Especially if you are a favorite son with the nickname Red Rocker.

Sammy Hagar is the subject here, embarking on “The Best of All Worlds” tour in 2024. Guitar legend Joe Satriani joins with his usual band mates Michael Anthony on bass and Jason Bonham on drums.

Loverboy is the tour’s special guest. The series plays MGM Grand Garden on Aug. 19. However, the original schedule required some editing from the man at the top.

“When i first got the dates for the tour, Las Vegas wasn’t on there!” Hagar says. “I told my manager, ‘They better put a Las Vegas date on there before I sign off on it!’”

The 28-show tour opens July 13 in West Palm Beach, Fla.; and closes Aug.31 in St. Louis. Hagar announced the tour details on “The Howard Stern Show” Tuesday morning. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday at AXS.com.

A frequent Vegas headliner, Hagar has been pitching a concept to showcase his music, image and many beverage-business ventures. Among them are Beach Bar Co., Santo Tequila, & Red Rocker Brewing Co. Sammy’s Island is its working title.

That initiative remains alive and Hagar has visited several Vegas resorts to pitch the project. The Redheads can await word on progress of that party annex as the tour unfolds in ‘24.

“I want to open with a bang,” says Hagar, always on-brand.

Last month, Hagar released “The Collection II,” of remaster versions of the four consecutive No. 1 albums during the Hagar era of Van Halen: “5150” (1986), “OU812” (1988),”For Unawful Carnal Knowledge” (1991), and “Balance (1995).”

Many of the hits from the Hagar-Van Halen days have not been played since the band’s 2004 reunion tour. Such classics as “Finish What Ya Started, “”5150,” “Your Love is Driving Me Crazy,” “Best of Both Worlds,” “Poundcake,” “Sexy Little Thing,” “One Way To Rock,” “Right Now,” “Good Enough,” and “Eagles Fly” are on the set list.

Legendary Australian musician Rai Thistlethwayte is on keyboard and backing vocals.

“It’s crazy to think that it’ll be 20 years since Mikey and I played these songs with Van Halen on the 04’ Best of Both Worlds Tour,” Hagar says. “With Joe on board, we can take a deeper dive into those years. We’re going to touch on some hits from my entire career but seeing fans old and new really embrace the new collection set off something in Mikey and I.”

Hagar was inspired at his latest birthday party in Cabo San Lucas.

“We were at my ‘Birthday Bash’ in Cabo for my 76th, and looked at each other and high-fived, like ‘let’s do it,’” Hagar said. “We pulled out a couple of them and it was an instant lovefest with the fans from our first riffs. The music we created is going to outlive us all. They deserve to be heard so it’s time we go out and serve the fans that music, while we still can.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.