Sammy Hagar has defended his planned performance at the Freedom 250 Fourth of July concert that was set to take place in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
The Red Rocker was slated to give a surprise performance of the Van Halen classic “Right Now” at the event, but it was canceled along with sets from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gretchen Wilson due to storms in the area. Instead, the delayed event only featured a speech from President Trump, fireworks, and the US Air Force Band.
Hagar wrote on Instagram alongside a rehearsal clip, “This is not a political thing! This is the celebration of our country’s birthday no matter who the president is at this time — this is our 250th birthday as a country. We’ve been up! And we’ve been down! And may always continue and survive. I hope that happens another 250 years. The hate the violence the prejudice hopefully will not survive. One nation under God! Hang in there all you doubters. We’ve come a long way. We have a long way to go.”
The comment came in the wake of blowback from fans on the same post regarding the partisan political nature the event took on following the scuttling of the long-planned America 250 celebration planned by Congress in favor of the privately-funded Freedom 250 events, which saw a number of artists cancel performances once they learned of the Trump administration’s involvement.
In a separate Instagram post, Hagar showed an image of his planned speech to be read during Van Halen classic “Right Now.” It read, “Right now we are celebrating our country’s 250th birthday & right now would be a good time to reunite this country. Come together right now. Stop the violence. Stop the hate. Right now is a good time to show some love & respect to our fellow brothers & sisters. Let’s not be prejudiced. Let’s all come together right now. Remember United We Stand, Divided We Fall. All we need is love! Right here, right now — Happy Birthday, America!”
5150, the Van Halen album featuring “Right Now,” recently received a 40th anniversary edition box set. Hagar is currently preparing for a slate of September shows as the next run of his residency in Las Vegas featuring the Best of All Worlds band consisting of Hagar, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Kenny Aronoff playing a set of Van Halen classics, plus material from Montrose, Chickenfoot, as well as Hagar solo material. Get tickets here, and use code VIVID20 for 20-percent off your first order over $200.
See both Instagram posts from Sammy Hagar below.
