"The Red Rocker," Sammy Hagar, and Rick Springfield, have more in common than most would think. They both started their musical careers in the 1960s, and each served in successful bands (Hagar in Montrose and Springfield in Zoot). They become linked together forever when Springfield recorded a successful version of Hagar's "I've Done Everything for You" in 1981.
Hagar and his band performed, with Springfield as the opening act, at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts on June 24, 2026.
While Hagar famously drinks tequila, Springfield has apparently been dipping into the fountain of youth. The nearly 77-year-old former "General Hospital" TV-star ran through a 10-song 45-minute set mostly covering his '80s heyday, when he was all over the charts.
Amongst the highlights were a killer version of "Love Somebody", "Don't Talk to Strangers" (which involved a crowd sing-along challenge) and "Human Touch", during which Springfield ventured out to a section of the venue greeting and high-fiving crowd members at Xfinity.
During "I've Done Everything for You", Hagar joined Springfield onstage (with some tequila on hand), turning the song into a fantastic debut.
Springfield reached the set's peak during the closing number, "Jessie's Girl". However, stopping his set at 45 minutes seemed way too soon, as Springfield had plenty more to give and the crowd wanted more.
Hagar opened his set with the first single release that kicked off his career in Van Halen, the infectious "Why Can't This Be Love?"
Hagar performed alongside his longtime sidekick, and original Van Halen bassist, Michael Anthony; guitar wizard Joe Satriani; Kenny Aronoff on drums; and keyboardist Nathan Mercado.
While Hagar definitely leads the band, he gave plenty of spotlight time to Anthony. One of the night's highlights was a take of Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love", which featured Anthony doing a spectacular job on the lead vocal spot. Unfortunately, this was the only song from the David Lee Roth era the band covered (save for a late-show cover of "Eruption" by Satriani). A couple of more tunes from the original Van Halen days (1978-1984) would have made it a more inclusive night/tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.
A mix of Van Halen hits ("Dreams", "Best of Both Worlds", "Right Now", "Top of the World"), solo joints ("There's Only One Way to Rock", "I Can't Drive 55", Heavy Metal") and even a Montrose cover ("Bad Motor Scooter") peppered Hagar's performance, leaving both the Van Halen and solo Hagar fans extremely satisfied.
