Sammy Hagar Promises Free Shows As Festival is Canceled
Sammy Hagar promised to deliver a series of free concerts across the U.S. after his second annual High Tide Beach Party & Car Show was canceled less than a week before it was set to take place.
Hagar’s band the Circle had been set to perform at Huntington State Beach, Calif., on Sept. 28 and 28, along with Richie Sambora, Vince Neil, Night Ranger, Extreme, Steel Panther, Blue Oyster Cult and others. Government officials said organizers Freeze Management had failed to secure permits for the event, while the company suggested that legal action might follow.
“For the first time ever, that I’ve experienced, we are a week out and we were unable to collect fees for any of the required elements of the permit, which included law enforcement, medical and fire,” State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall told the OC Register. “We couldn’t get any of the documents… Everything has timelines and limits and every single one of them were not met. We decided today, at this point, with literally nothing in place, the best thing to do was not to approve the permit.”
Freeze Management confirmed there was “no possibility” of finding an alternative venue in the time remaining and advised ticket holders to seek refunds from their vendor. “Our company can’t comment on pending litigation but there are two sides to every story,” a statement read. “All of our vendors, sponsors and performing talent are equally dismayed that this will not happen as intended in Huntington Beach, and ultimately the fans lose the most because they’ve been looking forward to the event for months… We are grateful for the support received so far from fans, artists and sponsors.”
After issuing a statement saying he was “surprised and very disappointed” and “sorry to inconvenience the fans, Hagar vowed to make things right via a short video. “I don’t know exactly what happened,” he said. “All I can say is I’m sorry. I’m more disappointed than anyone. I think the fans know how much I care about them, how much I care about my parties and my music and everything that I do. … But I’m going to try and make it up.”
He announced a free show with his band the Cabo Wabos on Oct. 8 – a day ahead of their scheduled appearance at his Cabo Wabo Cantina in in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico – with tickets available on a first come first served basis. “I’m going to try and do that throughout the country this next year on tour with the Circle,” he added. “Even, maybe, something this year… free concerts, here and there, pop-up concerts, little club somewhere. Ultimately I’m gonna do a big giant one on the beach. But until we can get all that done, I just wanna say I’m sorry and I’ll make it up.”
Hagar's made good on his word in such matters before. After losing his voice during a Van Halen concert in Texas, he brought Van Halen back to Dallas for a free afternoon concert.
In May this year, ‘80s-themed event the Like Totally Festival, also due to take place at Huntington State Beach, was canceled with 24 hours to go after the authorities did not receive safety documentation for the main stage. A spokesperson said it was the first time any event had been called off at the location.