LAS VEGAS — One night after officially opening Sammy’s Island at Palms Casino Resort, Sammy Hagar moved the party indoors.
On May 18, 2024, Sammy Hagar & The Circle took over the Pearl Concert Theater for a private, invite-only concert that kept an already very Red Rocker weekend going for one more night.
And Barrelassin’ was there for round two.
The complimentary, ticketed show brought together Hagar with Michael Anthony, Vic Johnson and Jason Bonham, shifting the setting from Friday night’s tropical poolside celebration to a full-scale rock show inside the Pearl.
From the Island to The Circle
The night before, Hagar had been outside celebrating the launch of Sammy’s Island, joining Red Voodoo onstage with Anthony and Johnson as the new poolside destination officially made its Las Vegas debut.
Twenty-four hours later, it was time for The Circle.
Photo © Barrelassin’ Media
The Pearl offered a completely different atmosphere, but the music pulled from all corners of Hagar’s career — the kind of setlist that can move from his solo years to Van Halen without needing much explanation for the crowd singing along.
The band opened with “Good Enough” before moving through songs including “Poundcake,” “There’s Only One Way to Rock,” “Three Lock Box,” “Finish What Ya Started,” “Right Now,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Best of Both Worlds” and “Heavy Metal.”
And, naturally, a Sammy Hagar show in Las Vegas wasn’t going to end without “I Can’t Drive 55.”
Four Musicians, A Lot of History
Part of what made The Circle work was the amount of rock history standing on one stage.
Hagar and Michael Anthony brought the obvious Van Halen connection, while guitarist Vic Johnson had already spent decades alongside Hagar through the Waboritas and other projects. Behind the kit was Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and a formidable drummer in his own right.
Rather than staying confined to one chapter of Hagar’s career, The Circle was built to move through all of them.
That made a show like this less about promoting a single album or era and more about pulling from a catalog accumulated across decades.
A Free Ticket to a Private Show
The May 18 concert wasn’t simply another stop on a public tour.
Admission was complimentary but ticketed, with tickets identifying the performance as a “Private Event Invite Only” show presented by Live Nation and Palms. The $0 ticket made for a pretty good follow-up to the previous night’s Sammy’s Island opening.
Photo © Barrelassin’ Media
For Barrelassin’, the two nights offered two very different versions of the Sammy Hagar experience at the same Las Vegas resort.
Friday meant palm trees, Red Rocker Lager, a plunge pool overlooking Sammy’s Island and Hagar taking the outdoor stage with Anthony and Johnson.
Saturday meant heading inside the Pearl, adding Jason Bonham to the equation and turning up the volume.
One More Night in Vegas
By the time The Circle reached the end of the night, the Palms had essentially spent two days inside Hagar’s world.
The weekend began with the debut of a new destination carrying his name and ended with the music that made that name recognizable in the first place.
For anyone who had spent the previous evening celebrating poolside, the concert felt less like a separate event than the second half of a very well-planned Red Rocker weekend.
Sammy’s Island had officially arrived in Las Vegas. The Circle made sure the opening weekend went out loud.
