David Lee Roth’s First Two Farewell Shows Canceled
David Lee Roth’s scheduled performances in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have been canceled, reportedly due to COVID-related concerns.
Las Vegas television station KTNV noted they were sent a press release stating the following: “Due to unforeseen circumstances related to COVID and out of an abundance of caution for those working and attending the shows, the David Lee Roth performances scheduled for Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022, have been canceled. Refunds will be automatically processed, and ticketholders will be notified directly.”
This message matches up almost verbatim to a tweet from the House of Blues Las Vegas, posted earlier in the evening but since taken down. While that tweet has been deleted, the performances are marked "cancelled" on the venue's website with no further explanation given.
Roth still has a string of Vegas dates remaining on his calendar, with the next performance scheduled for January 5. Earlier this year, the former Van Halen frontman announced he’d be retiring, with the Sin City dates serving as his final shows.
“I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth confessed to the Las Vegas Review Journal. “I’m not going to explain the statement. The explanation is in the statement. These are my last five shows.” The singer later added an additional four performances “due to popular demand.”
Roth had hinted at the possibility of his former bandmate, Alex Van Halen, joining him on stage for some of the farewell dates. The drummer's involvement was never confirmed and Wolfgang Van Halen -- Alex's nephew -- threw cold water on the idea as well.
“I’m not talking for Al or anything, but I haven’t heard," Wolfgang explained to Spin. "I haven’t talked to Al about it, but I mean, that doesn’t really seem like something Al would do. The thing with Van Halen that people should have learned [by] now is that if it doesn’t come from them, it’s not true. And Al has not made any public statements about this. So I wouldn’t expect it."