Sammy Hagar Plays Bar After Festival Gets Canceled
Sammy Hagar had been booked to play the Moondance Jam in Walker, Minn., on Thursday (July 16). But the fact that his headlining slot was wiped out as a result of a torrential downpour didn't stop Hagar. He and his band set up in a nearby bar that held 500 people and played there instead.
As he wrote on his website, "The festival got rained out completely [...] but we wanted to play and so we're going to play. We noticed these lights coming out of a building at the back of the festival ground and say, 'What's that?' Promoter explained it was their biggest bar on the property, and we say 'Let's go, I want to play for those people.' Completely by the seat of our pants, the band gave them a fantastic rocking performance that they'll all remember. It was Cabo Wabo style all the way baby! Just like from the Cantina."
With Jason Bonham in Great Britain, Hagar called in David Lauser, who has drummed on many of Hagar's albums and is a member of the Waboritas, to join him, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson. Hagar said that, in Bonham's absence, it was "more of a Sammy/Van Hagar/Montrose kind of show" than he does with the Circle. You can watch a brief fan-shot video of "There's Only One Way to Rock" above.
Other classic rock acts booked for the Moondance Jam include the Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, Pat Travers Band, Huey Lewis & the News, the Thin Lizzy splinter group Black Star Riders and Peter Frampton.
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