David Lee Roth performs Van Halen hits at first live show in 5 years

Diamond Dave returned to the stage for the first time in five years and performed some Van Halen classics.

David Lee Roth was among the performers at Maryland’s M3 Rock Festival over the weekend, taking the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion for a 16-song set list that consisted of Van Halen tracks, including “Panama,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Atomic Punk,” and “I’m the One.”

The original Van Halen frontman last appeared on stage in March 2020, opening for KISS during the band’s show at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Tex., as part of their End of the Road Tour. The following year, Roth famously announced his retirement.

“I am throwing in the shoes,” Roth told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in late 2021. “This is the first, and only, official announcement.”

Nodding to the late Eddie Van Halen, who died from cancer in October 2020, Roth said he’d been thinking about “the departure of my beloved classmate recently” when reaching the decision to retire. “I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter,” he added.

Roth was part of the rock band between 1973 and 1985, reuniting briefly with the group in 1996 and 2006. They disbanded in 2020 following Eddie Van Halen’s death. Roth has also released six albums as a solo performer, including 1986’s Eat ‘Em and Smile.

It appears that Roth is now officially out of retirement, as he’s set to embark on a 13-date tour across the U.S. this summer. It kicks off July 31 in Hollywood, Fla., and concludes Sept. 14 in Napa, Calif.

Roth made headlines last year after going on a tirade against Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late Eddie Van Halen and a former bassist for the rock band, and insinuated that he was part of the group due to nepotism. The younger Van Halen, for his part, took it in stride.

“I seem to have been born into this Van Halen drama that has come way before me,” Wolfgang said during a radio interview with Atlanta’s The Morning X. “And I guess now that my dad isn’t here to be a target, I guess he went to the next best thing. It’s… I don’t know.”