Sammy Hagar and The Circle have announced their first show date since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hagar and his backing band – which consists of Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson – will be headlining the Rockin’ Fore the Kids benefit show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on September 18. Per Rolling Stone, the concert is part of a celebrity golf tournament and silent auction benefitting Akron’s Children’s Hospital, MusiCares and local food banks.
Rolling Stone states that the press release they’ve obtained on the event makes it clear everything will “be produced according to all COVID-19 guidelines.”
Hagar made headlines this summer when he told Rolling Stone he’d be comfortable performing again before a COVID-19 vaccine and went as far as saying, “I’m going to make a radical statement here. This is hard to say without stirring somebody up, but truthfully, I’d rather personally get sick and even die, if that’s what it takes.”
Hagar would then issue a statement to via Facebook clarifying his comments saying, “I did that interview a month and a half ago, things change very fast right now, so I wanted to clarify and put a few things into context now. I did that interview May 8th when we were already several weeks into the stay-at-home, which my family and I took very seriously, and things were starting to look up, the curve was beginning flattening. So when I was asked if I’d be comfortable enough to get back onstage before a vaccine was out, I was cautiously optimistic. I said, ‘Yeah, not too soon. I want to make sure it’s not escalating. When it’s declining and seems to be going away.'”
His statement continued, “Big picture, it’s about getting back to work in a safe and responsible way and getting this economy rolling again. I will do my part. I stand by that. I employ 200 people directly and when we tour even more. Like everything today, it’s a watch and see over the next few months but we remain cautiously optimistic that with the right improvements and safety measures in place, we might be able to play shows this year. That said, as things change, for the better or worse, we will appropriately adjust our plans.”