Van Halen will return to the road in 2011 — or so said Live Nation Ticketmaster chairman Irving Azoff, in a meeting with analysts meant to show that the outlook for next year's concert circuit will brighten. Van Halen, with David Lee Roth, last toured together in June 2008. According to USA Today , Azoff, who is also Van Halen's manager, named Van Halen, Christina Aguilera, Fleetwood Mac and the cast of Glee as some of the artists that are expected to pack stadium and arenas when they embark on tours next year. Van Halen's 2008 tour grossed $93 million for Live Nation.

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This isn't the first time Azoff has promised of a Van Halen tour: In September 2009, at another Q&A session, he mentioned that Van Halen were planning to tour in 2010, but that never came to fruition. Van Halen has long been rumored to be working on a new studio album, their first with Roth since 1984, but Eddie's wife Janie Van Halen told Rolling Stone in June that, "What is going around is exactly that, rumors."


According to Pollstar, Ticketmaster CEO Irving Azoff unexpectedly let news of a 2010 Van Halen tour slip out during a Q&A session at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Conference yesterday. Azoff was on hand to discuss dynamic ticketing prices and paperless tickets, and the confab marked the first time Azoff and Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino staged a co-presentation as the pair await a final decision on their merger.

As Rolling Stone previously reported in July, Eddie Van Halen is still on the mend after undergoing surgery to fix a bone spur, cyst and twisted tendon in his left hand. Eddie's recovery time was expected to be between four to six months, meaning that the guitarist would likely be ready in time for another 2010 trek with David Lee Roth, Wolfgang and Alex Van Halen.
Before Van Halen starts booking arenas, the quartet will release their Guitar Hero: Van Halen on December 22nd. As RS wrote yesterday, the game will also be sent out for no charge to people who pick up a copy of Guitar Hero 5 for a limited time.