SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE

Sammy Hagar

For the last four decades, Sammy Hagar has been one of rock music's most dynamic and prolific artists. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band Montrose, to his multiplatinum solo career, to his ride as the front man of Van Halen, Chickenfoot and his latest supergroup The Circle, Hagar has amassed 25 Platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever written with songs like "I Can't Drive 55," "Right Now," and "Why Can't This Be Love" and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hagar is also a dedicated philanthropist, two-time New York Times best-selling author and auspicious entrepreneur. 

Since launching his flagship Cabo Wabo Cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 1990, Hagar has turned a lifelong passion for great food, music and spirits into a thriving lifestyle brand encompassing successful restaurants, bars, spirits and retail. His annual Birthday Bash has become one of the year’s most legendary jam-sessions for rockstars to perform at and coveted tickets for music fans to attend. He’s since expanded his Cantina brand to include successful outposts in Las Vegas and Hollywood. In addition to the Cantinas, he’s successfully launched Sammy’s Beach Bar and Grill restaurants in four airports, donating his proceeds from these locations to local charities.  

Photo Credit: Leah Steiger

Sammy’s now legendary foray into spirits began as a personal quest to find a quality tequila to drink with his friends at the Cantina and by 2007 he and his team had built Cabo Wabo Tequila into the #2 selling premium tequila in the US. In 2010, Hagar sold his interests in Cabo Wabo Tequila to Gruppo Campari in a deal which is widely credited as the start of the celebrity-backed spirits trend. One year after conquering the tequila market, Sammy turned his attention to rum.  In its first year, Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum was awarded “Best of Show” by the Nightclub and Bar Show and “Double Gold” at both the Los Angeles Spirits Competition and New York Spirits Competition. In 2017, Sammy returned to the world of agave with the launch of Santo Mezquila, the World’s first tequila-mezcal hybrid. In 2019, he joined forces with acclaimed Emmy Award-winning chef and restaurateur Guy Fieri to expand the Santo brand with the launch of Santo Tequila Blanco, a premium old-world style tequila.

Never one to hit the brakes, Sammy’s expanded his successes into publishing, TV, radio and beyond. Fans have watched him on season eleven of The Voice, where he was a mentor for Team Adam and during five seasons of his hit TV series Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar. In 2015, he scored his second New York Times best-selling book, Are We Having Any Fun Yet? (Harper Collins), the highly anticipated follow up to Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, his #1 New York Times best-selling memoir. He’s also host of Sammy Hagar’s Top Rock Countdown, a weekly syndicated radio show broadcast to 90+ US stations. 

His debut album with The Circle, Space Between, entered the U.S. Billboard 200 chart at #4 on May 10, 2019 and debuted at #1 on four Billboard charts including: #1 - Top Album Sales, #1 - Top Rock Albums, #1 - Hard Rock Albums and #1 - Independent Albums. The band toured throughout 2019 in support of the album, earning universal praise from fans and critics alike.  The Circle kicked off 2021 with the release of "Lockdown 2020," an album collection of their massively popular Lockdown Sessions featuring raw and raucous compact covers of classic hits that they'd jammed to backstage but never planned to record.  Recorded remotely by each bandmember during the Covid-19 stay-at-homes, the digital music videos which include hits like The Who's "Won‘t Get Fooled Again,” Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds," AC/DC, "Whole Lotta Rosie" and David Bowie's "Heroes” had already reached an online audience of more than 30 million before the album’s release.

Sammy and his wife Kari created The Hagar Family Foundation in 2008. The private non-profit focuses on food relief and children’s causes. Hagar’s hardscrabble upbringing instilled in him an unstoppable work ethic that’s been the driving force behind his rise to the top as a musician and entrepreneur - and continues to fuel his dedication as a philanthropist. “Being a poor kid is a little humiliating and it instilled in me a desire to be somebody,” Hagar explained. “It's where all my drive comes from.  I was willing to work hard to ensure I was never poor again. Even now, I can still go to that place and remember that feeling but now it drives me to want to give back and to show kids that if you work hard, there’s going to be an open door out.” Since 2008 the foundation has given more than $4 million to local communities. Sammy continues to tour the world with his band The Circle, donating back to local food banks in every city they play. In 2014 he also founded “Acoustic-4-A-Cure,” an annual Bay Area concert featuring acoustic performances by some of the biggest names in music benefitting the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. In recent years, he’s also become an in demand speaker alongside new friends like Warren Buffett. His #1 priority remains being a great husband to wife Kari and father to his children.