During a recent interview with AL.com, Jason Isbell revealed his unfulfilled final wish involving the late Eddie Van Halen while discussing the invitation he received to open for Van Halen at their Nashville concert.
Recalling that opportunity for the gig with Van Halen, the singer said:
“We [Isbell and his 400 Unit band] were supposed to open at least the Nashville show and maybe more than that, I don’t know. But they just asked me if it was something I wanted to do, and of course, my agent and my manager knew that was something I would want to do.”
The Excitement And Disappointment
He added, sharing his feelings at the time:
“So I was very, very excited. And then, you know, Eddie got sick, and that was that. And that’s really all that I ever knew about it.”
Jason concluded his words:
“But yeah, that was a huge moment for me to be invited to do that, and we were extremely excited. And it didn’t happen, but yeah, it would have been nice.”
The ‘Kitchen Sink’ Tour Concept
The tour Isbell mentioned is ‘Kitchen Sink’ by Van Halen, which would have included David Lee Roth, previous vocalists Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone, and former bassist Michael Anthony. The tour, originally scheduled for the summer of 2019, was called off before any official announcement due to Eddie’s declining health at the beginning of that year.
Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed, speaking to the Howard Stern Show in 2020, that the tour would take place. He had discussed the possibility of a reunion with his dad since 2015. He suggested he could open for them and have Mike back. Eddie eventually considered the idea and agreed to play together. Wolf noted:
“But as time went on, he [Eddie Van Halen] warmed up to the idea – I got him excited about it. And at a certain point, it turned into what we joked was the ‘kitchen-sink’ tour. ’Cos after he was OK with that arrangement, it was like, ‘F*ck, let’s get Dave and Hagar, and even Cherone. Let’s just do a giant, f*ckin’ awesome thing.’”
Sammy Hagar also said in a 2020 interview with SiriuxXM’s Eddie Trunk that he was aware of the potential reunion, and while no one confirmed it, he believed it was going to happen. He expressed hesitation about sharing the stage with David Lee Roth, as he found Roth difficult to work with. Despite this, he was excited about it because it would have been a dream come true for him.
