SAMMY HAGAR And MICHAEL ANTHONY Pay Tribute To AEROSMITH After Retirement Announcement

Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony paid tribute to AEROSMITH after the legendary rockers announced they were retiring from the road.

During the encore portion of Hagar's concert on Friday (August 2) at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, which is part of his "The Best Of All Worlds" tour, Sammy addressed the crowd, saying: "We had some crazy news today. We got here this afternoon sometime and we're all sitting around backstage and a friend of ours that works for AEROSMITH came and said, 'Yeah, AEROSMITH called retirement today. They quit. They stopped.' God bless 'em.

"It's a horrible thing. It's a horrible thing. What a great fucking loss," he continued.

"I gotta tell ya, one of the times in 197[4], MONTROSE was playing Cobo [Arena in Detroit], and we were opening for AEROSMITH, and we didn't know who they were, and they sold out Cobo [Arena], and I'm going, 'Who the fuck are these guys?' So, we did our show, we did an encore, and we played [THE BEATLES'] 'Helter Skelter' for our encore. And AEROSMITH comes on and they opened with 'Helter Skelter'. Steven [Tyler, AEROSMITH singer] and I have been friends ever since.

"Long story short, we love those guys," Hagar added. "We all grew up with those guys. You grew up with them, we grew up with them, Mike and I. They've been our competitors to VAN HALEN for fucking 10 years. You know what I'm saying? 'Fuck those guys.' No, no, no, but we really do like them. It's just that we're mad at them.

"But anyway, what a shame. It's a sad thing, but honest to God, my hat goes off to one of the greatest rock and roll singers of all time, Mister Steven Tyler, for saying, 'I can't sing anymore. I quit.'

"Fuck yes. Listen, that's honorable," Hagar said. "That's fucking honorable. The day I can't sing anymore, I will fucking do the same thing. And that's what a lot of other motherfuckers should have did a long time ago.

"So let's do one. Let's do one for them. Let's do one for AEROSMITH."

Hagar and his band, which consists of Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and multi-instrumentalist Rai Thistlethwayte, then performed a version of "Helter Skelter".

Sammy and Michael also talked about AEROSMITH's decision to retire during an interview with Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern conducted before the Clarkston concert. Michael said: "We just heard about that five minutes ago backstage. I mean, AEROSMITH was such a great band. Growing up, they were a big influence on me, inspiration, whatever. And you always hate to hear something like that happen, where something like that forces a band to either go into retirement or quit touring or whatever. It's pretty sad. Steven's a great frickin' singer, and we're all friends. Sammy and I know him, they're friends. It's sad to hear something like that happen."

Added Sammy: "But the truth of the matter is, God bless him for having the guts to hang it up before he goes out there and embarrasses himself and feels bad about it and fans start saying, 'Oh man, that sucked.' 'Cause this is a tough world with the Internet out there, man. You have one bad night and the whole world knows about it. You know what I mean? So Steven, God bless him for standing up like a man and saying, 'I can't deliver what I would like to deliver to you at these prices.' And that's the way I feel about myself. When I can't do it, I will be long gone, just like that. There's so many guys out there that I hear them and I just go, 'Whoa! What happened?' And I don't wanna be one of those guys. And God bless Steven for saying that. Peace, Steven. You're a good man. We're gonna miss ya, but we'll hang in Maui."

On Friday (August 2),AEROSMITH announced it was officially retiring from touring after Tyler's vocal injury.

The legendary Massachusetts rockers made the announcement nearly one year after the now-76-year-old singer fractured his larynx during a September 2023 show.

In AEROSMITH's original announcement, the band wrote: "As you know, Steven's voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We've seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible.

"We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision - as a band of brothers - to retire from the touring stage," the statement continued. "We are grateful beyond words for everyone who was pumped to get on the road with us one last time."

The band also thanked its fans for their constant support.

"Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades," the statement read. "Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock 'n' roll history."

"It has been the honor of our lives to have our music become part of yours. In every club, on every massive tour and at moments grand and private you have given us a place in the soundtrack of your lives," the statement continued.

The "Peace Out" tour came to a halt after what turned out to be a final gig in Elmont, New York on September 9, 2023. That show came just three dates into the trek, which was supposed to last through February 2024. Tyler said in a statement at the time that the injury caused bleeding but that he hoped he and his AEROSMITH bandmates would be back on the road after postponing a few shows.

The rescheduled "Peace Out" tour was due to begin September 20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with special guests THE BLACK CROWES.

Tickets for remaining dates of the "Peace Out" tour will be refunded through Ticketmaster. If fans purchased tickets through a third-party reseller like StubHub or SeatGeek, refunds will be available through that point of purchase.

AEROSMITH hasn't made a studio album since "Music From Another Dimension!", which came out in 2012.

Tyler released a solo LP in 2016.