Van Halen announce 2012 tour

After a year of rumors surrounding the release of singles and TV appearances, Van Halen have made an official announcement: The band will be hitting the road in 2012, with tickets for their first dates going on sale 10 January.

Earlier today (26 December), the band posted the above clip that was shot at the the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Reportedly, the group filmed a video for a brand-new song at the Roxy, and the promo clip for the tour uses footage from that shoot.

Regarding the tour, an actual itinerary hasn't been revealed as of yet, but that info should be coming on or before 10 January.

While nothing has been confirmed as to a release date of Van Halen's upcoming disc, a graphic that is being used (see below) lists "2.7.12." The first single? The full album? We should know soon.

The new Van Halen record was produced by Ross Hogarth and is the band's first full-length album with singer David Lee Roth since the release of 1984 (which was issued on the last day of 1983).

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.