David Lee Roth Returns: First Full Solo Show In Five Years Ignites M3 Rock Festival (Video)

Iconic Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth made a powerful return to the stage on Saturday, May 3, 2025, delivering his first complete solo concert in over five years. The performance headlined the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, marking a significant comeback after his previously announced retirement intentions. Fan filmed footages are available below.

The setlist heavily showcased Van Halen classics, reflecting Roth‘s legendary tenure with the band. The 16-song performance included:

• “Panama”
• “Drop Dead Legs”
• “You Really Got Me” (The Kinks cover)
• “Unchained”
• “Dance The Night Away”
• “Runnin’ With The Devil”
• “Mean Street”
• “Atomic Punk”
• “And The Cradle Will Rock…”
• “Jamie’s Cryin’”
• “I’m The One”
• “Everybody Wants Some!!”
• “Romeo Delight”
• “Hot For Teacher”
• “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
• “Jump”

This live appearance follows Roth‘s recent activity of releasing solo recordings of several Van Halen standards. These tracks were captured live on May 3, 2022, at Henson Recording Studio in Hollywood, California. In a productive two-hour session, Roth recorded 14 songs alongside guitarist Al Estrada, bassist Ryan Wheeler, and drummer Francis Valentino. Notably, these recordings were made without the use of samples or Auto-Tune pitch correction. Released tracks include “Jump”, “Unchained”, “Everybody Wants Some!!”, “You Really Got Me”, “Dance The Night Away”, “Panama”, and “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”.

Roth originally departed Van Halen after the monumental success of the 1984 album, returning briefly in 1996 and then resuming frontman duties from 2007 until 2020. The band’s last tour concluded in 2015. The M3 festival performance marks a reversal from January 2022, when Roth canceled the remainder of his planned Las Vegas farewell residency shows, indicating he was retiring from live performance. Fans have another opportunity to see Roth perform live later this year; he is scheduled to appear on September 12 in Saratoga, California, for the Mountain Winery’s 67th Summer Concert Series.