SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE kicked off a five-date tour of Florida Sunday (May 23) at Key West, Florida’s Coffee Butler Amphitheater. Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below.
Remaining shows:
May 25 – Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center
May 26 – Orlando, FL @ Dr. Phillips Center
Jun. 01 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
Jun. 02 – St. Augustine, FL @ St. Augustine Amphitheater
Each venue is enforcing a social distancing policy, including the St. Augustine Amphitheatre concerts, which will have a limited capacity with distanced seating and enhanced safety measures. These changes include digital ticketing and mobile concession ordering.
This past January, Hagar said that he was reluctant to play socially distant concerts, citing the example of a 10,000-capacity venue with 5,000 fans in the room.
“I just know that those 5,000 people are not going to stay in their seats and socially distance,” he said. “The second we start getting it on and I start saying, ‘Are we having any fun yet?’ and holding the mic up in the air and [singing] ‘Right Now’, they’re going to be at the front of the stage, all unsocially distanced. … It’s going get criticized, or I’m going get sued or fined or something.”
SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE released their massively popular “Lockdown Sessions” as an album collection titled “Lockdown 2020” on January 8.
“Lockdown Sessions” began in March 2020, when the COVID-19 shelter-at-home order went into effect. With time on their hands and their upcoming tour in limbo, the band’s legendary drummer Jason Bonham challenged Hagar, Michael Anthony and Vic Johnson to record a warmup jam they’d been playing backstage before concerts for several years. Equipped with iPhones and their respective instruments, they each laid down their individual tracks from the den, music room, closet and even showers of their homes, and “Funky Feng Shui” and the band’s “Lockdown Sessions” were born.
“When we first start doing these lockdown sessions, it was only meant to stay in touch with the fans until we could get back out on the road again,” Hagar explained. “But as the weeks and months drew on, it also became a fun way to keep the band together, musically and creatively.”
Over the next eight months, their “Lockdown Sessions” became a hit with critics and fans alike, producing 10 tracks and reaching an online audience approaching 30 million. The sessions gave the band the opportunity to throw down raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they’d jammed to backstage but never planned to record, including THE WHO‘s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, Bob Marley‘s “Three Little Birds”, AC/DC‘s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and more. When plans for an album came to fruition around the holidays, the band came together to record one more track, a cover of David Bowie‘s “Heroes” which they’d offer as an instant download or single purchase.
“With the addition of ‘Heroes’, it made sense to help those who are struggling from the effects of COVID-19,” Hagar said. “It probably wouldn’t have happened without it.”
