David Lee Roth will return to the stage on July 4, when he performs at the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Michigan. The appearance puts him on one of the holiday weekend’s biggest local bills as the festival marks its 100th anniversary.
Kat Paye called Roth “a true rock legend” and said his high-energy performance will be an unforgettable highlight of this year’s lineup. The booking also lands at a moment when the singer’s live career has already surprised fans once this year, after he re-emerged in May 2025 at the M3 Rock Festival in Maryland.
Roth first joined a young Pasadena band in the mid-1970s that renamed itself Van Halen in 1974, and he became the group’s original frontman during its most commercially explosive years. Albums including Van Halen, Women and Children First, Fair Warning and 1984 helped define that run, while songs such as Jump, Panama and Hot for Teacher turned the band into one of the era’s biggest acts.
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Roth also built a solo career with hits including California Girls, Yankee Rose and Just Like Paradise, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 alongside the members of Van Halen. Beyond music, he became a licensed EMT in New York City and has said he responded to more than 200 emergency calls; he is also a pilot, martial artist and visual artist.
The July 4 date carries extra weight because Roth had announced plans to retire from performing in 2021 after a Las Vegas residency, though those shows were later canceled. His last public concert before stepping away came in March 2020, when he was opening for Kiss. He later returned in May 2025 with a set at the M3 Rock Festival built entirely around Van Halen classics and deeper cuts, and that comeback led to a full summer run in 2025.
For the National Cherry Festival, the booking gives the centennial celebration a marquee name with a long history of drawing big crowds. For Roth, it answers the question his retirement announcement raised: he is still performing, and on July 4 he will be back in front of an audience in Traverse City.
