David Lee Roth Announces His Retirement

He'll play his final show in January 2022

David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth attends the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021.
Jeff Kravitz/MTV VMAs 2021/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS

If you’ve ever wanted to see David Lee Roth live, you might want to make travel plans to Las Vegas. That’s where the rock frontman and Van Halen vocalist will bring his career in music to a close early next year. Vulture reports that Roth is wrapping up his time on stage over concerns for his health, according to a recent report from Vulture.

Roth’s comments came in an interview with John Katsilometes of the Las Vegas Review-Journal — albeit one that Katsilometes described as “more a spoken-word performance than interview.”

Among the information he revealed: that his band will be, for all intents and purposes, the final iteration of Van Halen. “We are bringing it in classic VH style,” Roth told Katsilometes. “Alex and I are the only version, that was his message. There is no other variation.”

He concluded the interview with a blend of sentimentality and irreverence. “It’s been an amazing, great run, no regrets, nothing to say about anybody,” Roth said. “I’ll miss you all. Stay frosty.”

Roth will play five nights of shows House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, culminating with a final bow on January 8, 2022. Vulture’s article notes that the 75 days prior to the five nights of shows — scheduled for December 31 and January 1, 5, 7 and 8 — will consist of rehearsals. It’s a bold conclusion to the career of an iconic vocalist.

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