The Red Rocker is doing it again. Sammy Hagar has announced dates for his annual birthday bash at Cabo Wabo Cantina, and for anyone who managed to score tickets last year, you already know what that means: a packed house, a sweaty cantina, and Sammy doing what Sammy does best.
This year’s celebration is set for October 9, 11, and 13. Hagar turns 79 that last night, and if past years are any indication, he’ll be the one with the most energy in the room. Last year’s bash stretched to four nights. This year it’s three.
Tickets are lottery-only, which is probably the fairest way to handle the demand without turning the entire process into a madhouse. Registration runs from July 20 through July 31, and winners will be drawn on August 3rd. If you want in, that’s your window. No registration after the 31st, no exceptions, and no amount of tequila will change that.
Full details and registration are available at RedRocker.com. The site will walk you through the lottery process, ticket pricing, and all the fine print you’d expect from an event that reliably sells out before most people finish their morning coffee.
For those unfamiliar with the tradition, Hagar’s birthday bash isn’t a quiet dinner with cake. It’s a full-on rock show at the cantina he opened back in 1990, and it draws fans from all over. Some fly in just for this. Others plan their October around it. And every year, the same question comes up: Will there be surprise guests? The answer is usually yes, but you won’t know who until they walk on stage.
Cabo Wabo has become as much a part of the Cabo experience as the arch at Land’s End, and Hagar’s birthday shows are the anchor event of the year for the place. If you’ve never been, it’s loud, it’s crowded, and it’s exactly what you’d expect from a rock-and-roll birthday party in Baja.
Mark your calendar. Register early. And if you don’t win the lottery, well, there’s always next year.
