Credit: Leah SteigerSammy Hagar and his current backing group, The Circle, which includes his old Van Halen band mate Michael Anthony on bass and Jason Bonham on drums, embark of their first full-length trek tonight in Reno, Nevada. The month-and-a-half-long U.S. outing — dubbed the Full Circle Jam Tour — runs throughthrough a June 8 show in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
The motivation behind the new trek is to promote the band’s first album of original material, Space Between, due out May 10.
At their shows, Hagar and The Circle are known for digging into Sammy’s deep back catalog, including songs by Montrose and Van Halen and from the Red Rocker’s solo releases, plus some Led Zeppelin classics. On this tour, the band is planning to play some new originals, something Hagar says will be a challenge.
“[I]t’s gonna be hard fitting these songs [from Space Between],” Sammy tells ABC Radio. “I’ve got five songs picked to go in the set list.”
Hagar notes that when he ran his initial idea for a set by Anthony, Michael pointed out many key tunes that he’d omitted.
“We’ve got so many songs in the catalog,” says Sammy, “we forget more songs than we remember.”
Hagar tells ABC Radio that in order to include all the songs they’d like to play live, they’d have to do a marathon show like Guns N’ Roses or The Grateful Dead, but he doesn’t think his voice could hold up for that long.
“I really put a lot of strain on my voice, and thank God it hasn’t gone, and I can still hit the notes,” he maintains, “but I’m raspier now.”
Opening for the band on select, separate, shows during the trek will be Vince Neil and Night Ranger. Here’s the full list of tour dates:
4/19 — Reno, NV, Grand Sierra Resort – Grand Theatre
4/20 — Concord, CA, Concord Pavilion+
4/22 — Fresno, CA, Warnors Theatre
4/23 — Bakersfield, CA, Rabobank Theatre
4/26 — Laughlin, NV, Harrah’s Laughlin – Rio Vista Outdoor Amphitheatre
4/27 — Albuquerque, NM, Route 66 Casino
4/30 — Austin, TX, ACL Live at The Moody Theater
5/1 — Sugar Land, TX, Smart Financial Centre
5/3 — Thackerville, OK, WinStar World Casino & Resort
5/4 — Tulsa, OK, Paradise Cove at River Spirit Casino Resort
5/7 — West Hollywood, CA, The Troubadour
5/17 — Prior Lake, MN, Mystic Lake Casino Amphitheater
5/18 — Maryland Heights, MO, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
5/20 — Huber Heights, OH, Rose Music Center at The Heights*
5/22 — Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre**
5/23 — Indianapolis, IN, Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park**
5/25 — Bensalem, PA, XCite Center at Parx Casino
5/26 — Gilford, NH, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion**
5/28 — Boston, MA, Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion**
5/30 — Mashantucket, CT, Foxwoods Resort Casino**
5/31 — Vienna, VA, Wolf Trap**
6/2 — Northfield, OH, MGM Northfield Park – Center Stage
6/4 — Lewiston, NY, Artpark Amphitheater**
6/5 — Pittsburgh, PA, Highmark Stadium**
6/7 — Tinley Park, IL, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre*
6/8 — Fort Dodge, IA, Shellabration – Roger Sports Complex*
+ = Don Felder
* = Vince Neil
** = Night Ranger
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