Why Sammy Hagar's Cabo Birthday Bash Opened With Less Van Halen This Year
Sammy Hagar opened his Cabo Birthday Bash with a Montrose-heavy set, only three Van Halen songs, and no Michael Anthony.
Sammy Hagar's latest Cabo Birthday Bash opened with a noticeable shift. The first night leaned heavily on Montrose material, kept Van Halen to three songs, and unfolded without frequent Birthday Bash player Michael Anthony.
Hagar launched this year's three-show Cabo Birthday Bash on Friday night at the Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Two more concerts at the same venue are scheduled for Oct. 11 and Oct. 13.
One of the biggest changes from some past editions was Anthony's absence. The Van Halen bassist, who has appeared at Hagar's birthday shows several times before, said on social media that he skipped this year because he is traveling in Oregon with his wife, Sue. He explained that she turns 70 and wanted to mark her birthday differently after more than 25 years of spending it in Cabo while he played Hagar's bash.
A set list that matched Hagar's latest thinking
Night one made the change easy to hear. The set opened with Roy Brown's "Good Rocking Tonight," then quickly dug into Montrose with "Make It Last," "Space Station #5," "Rock Candy," "Rock the Nation" and "Bad Motor Scooter."
Hagar also pulled from his solo catalog, including "Marching to Mars," "There's Only One Way to Rock," "I'll Fall in Love Again," "Three Lock Box" and "Red." The Van Halen portion was comparatively small, limited to "Best of Both Worlds," "Top of the World" and "Poundcake." Near the end, he added Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" before closing with "Heavy Metal."
That balance lines up with what Hagar has been saying lately. In a recent SiriusXM interview with Eddie Trunk, he said he is ready to move on from being seen mainly as the "Van Halen guy," even though some of those songs will remain in his shows. Last month he finished the Best of All Worlds tour, a run that began two years ago. He said that trek with Joe Satriani was originally meant to happen only once in 2024, but its success led to a Las Vegas residency, which he had wanted.
For fans heading to the remaining Cabo dates, the clearest takeaway from opening night is that this year's birthday run is drawing more from Hagar's wider catalog and a little less from the Van Halen era.
