Sammy Hagar Salutes Frontline Workers At First Live Concert In Over A Year

Sammy Hagar & the Circle are back on tour after spending most of the last year in COVID isolation.

The supergroup featuring Hagar, Michael Anthony, Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson returned to a stage on May 23 for an outdoor show in Key West, Florida.

Hagar, who expected 2020 to be his busiest year of touring in decades, has been eager to get back to live performing as soon as possible.

After tearing through a set of solo hits, covers and classics by both Van Halen and Montrose, the Red Rocker reflected on the past 15 months and reiterated how grateful he is to have made it back to this point.

"It just want to say it really is cool to see things opening up and getting back to normal!" he said, after noting that he promised not to make a speech.

Hagar looked back on the Circle's Lockdown 2020 from-home covers album and how important that was to keeping the band connected, engaged and arguing, "just like a real rock and roll band."

But there were people doing much more important work over the last year than the Circle, Hagar admitted. While introducing David Bowie's "Heroes," he pointed out the everyday people who kept the world going, despite the pandemic.

"We started feeling really, really grateful for those people that stayed on the money," he continued. "The firemen, the policemen, the mailman, the grocery store attendant, the plumber that came to my house and fixed my f---ing toilet during COVID. Those people became kind of like the real heroes in life. Everybody’s got these heroes that are just bigger than life, well it seems like during 2020 some regular people stepped up and became heroes.”

Hagar shared video of the encore via his official Facebook page. You can watch it via the player above!

Hagar & the Circle last performed together during Hagar's annual birthday bash, which this year was recorded for pay-per-view from Catalina Island in Los Angeles.

Photo: Getty Images