March 26th, 2004


The rumors are true. The wait is over. The planets are aligning, and all is right in the world again.

In 1996, an announcement from the Van Halen camp knocked fans on their collective ass: Sammy Hagar was out of the group. Eight years later, VH fans are about to get knocked on their asses again ... but this time, instead of sucking ass, the news kicks much ass: Sammy, Eddie, Alex and Michael have reunited, and will be headed to a stage near you this summer!

The official website now hosts a brand new snap of Michael, Sammy, Alex, and Edward and confirms 28 dates for the first leg of the tour, exclaiming "EDDIE, ALEX, MIKE & SAMMY HIT THE ROAD!"

"Van Halen Summer 2004 Tour Dates

Tickets can be purchased online at the scheduled dates and times below. Please note all times are local to your locale unless otherwise noted!

Date Location Venue Onsale date

June 11 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 13 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 16 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 19 Worcester, MA Worcester Centrum April 3 - 10:00 AM
June 22 East Rutherford, NJ Continental Arena April 3 - 9:00 AM
June 25 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center TBA
June 26 Albany, NY Pepsi Center TBA
June 28 Washington D.C. MCI Center April 3 - 12:00 PM
July 01 Pittsburgh, PA Mellon Arena TBA
July 02 Cleveland, OH Gund Arena TBA
July 03 Toronto, Ontario, CAN Air Canada Center TBA
July 06 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center TBA
July 07 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse TBA
July 10 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 11 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace at Auburn Hills April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 19 Chicago, IL TBA
July 22 St. Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 26 Kansas City, MO Kemper Arena April 3 - 10:00 AM
July 28 St. Louis, MO Savvis Center April 3 - 11:00 AM
July 31 Omaha, NE Qwest Center TBA
August 01 Denver, CO Pepsi Center TBA
August 05 Phoenix, AZ America West Arena TBA
August 07 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center April 3 - 10:00 AM
August 10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion TBA
August 11 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena TBA
August 13 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena TBA
August 14 Fresno, CA Save Mart Arena TBA
August 19 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center TBA

Note: All dates, times and locations are subject to change. Online ticket purchase links will be activated as soon as the shows go on sale."

It is rumored that the following add-on dates are penciled into the itnerary if the primary shows sell well:

June 21 East Rutherford, NJ Continental Arena
June 27 Washington D.C. MCI Center
July 04 Toronto, Ontario, CAN Air Canada Center
July 09 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
July 20 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
July 29 St. Louis, MO Savvis Center
Aug 02 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Aug 08 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Events Center
Aug 12 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena
Aug 18 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center

In addition to these dates on the official site, the United Lists Of Van Halen have gotten wind of the following locations, rumored for a second leg of the tour in the September to November timeframe:

Boston, MA
Buffalo, NY
Madison Square Garden, NY
Richmond, VA
Cleveland, OH
Cincinnati, OH
Nashville, TN
Charlotte, NC
Columbia, SC
Atlanta, GA
Jacksonville, FL
Miami, FL
Tampa, FL
Birmingham, AL
Jackson, MS
New Orleans, LA
Little Rock, AR
Houston, TX
Dallas, TX
Albuquerque, NM
San Diego, CA
Seattle WA
Portland, OR
Vancouver, CAN
Montreal, CAN

And finally, we can put to rest the rumor that the "special guests" listed for the Sammy show at that Taho Wabo on May 2nd are Van Halen. VH will not be playing this show.

When word of the reunion reached Howard Stern, he wasted no time calling Sammy at home to ask him about it. Sammy took the call, despite the fact that it was still obscenely early in California at the time. Howard chided Sammy as he replayed comments he had made about the band after the 1996 split. Hagar laughed to hear the old quotes dredged from the archives and explained that he was being honest about his feelings at the time but that time is long past and he is just excited to be working with the band again.

Sam further recounted that while he has been in contact with Michael in recent years, the first brother he reconnected with was Alex with a call from Eddie following soon thereafter. He says that they have not apologized to each other, they have just picked up from here.

Regarding the new music, Sammy said that the material that Eddie has been working on was the foundation of their new collaborations.

When asked if it is uncomfortable to work with the brothers after all these years of acrimony, he replied that while he was nervous at first, they have worked through a lot of the old stuff in the three months that they have been reunited. Sammy made a point of reiterating that he is not mad at Edward and that Ed is healthy and playing better than ever.

The first single they plan to release is a new tune titled ''It's About Time'', which the VHND expects to be on Van Halen Best Of Volume II, though he did not explicitly say so.

A few more highlights:

• Sammy said the music Eddie is coming up with is "extremely inspiring".
• Sammy is really pumped up about how great "It's About Time" is.
• Sammy thinks the songs they wrote are great & thinks the time is right to do this.
• Sammy said things feel better now than ever in VH.
• Sammy's favorite VH song is "Dreams"