Hard rock/heavy metal pundit Eddie Trunk celebrated 40 years in radio on Monday night (December 11th) with an all-star bash at the House of Blues in Las Vegas.
Many of the famous rockers Trunk has encountered and worked with across his four-decade career in the business showed out for the evening to play their respective hits. All proceeds from the event benefitted the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund.
Among the performers were Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony — billed as “The Other Half (of Van Halen)” — and a host of “special guests” that included Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, Ace Frehley, Corey Taylor, Lita Ford, Geezer Butler, Mike Portnoy, Kevin Cronin, and Stephen Pearcy.
Hagar rocked “I Can’t Drive 55,” while Anthony sang Van Halen’s “Somebody Get Me a Doctor” with Portnoy on drums. Other highlights included Sebastian Bach tapping into his Skid Row years for “Monkey Business”; Cooper performing “School’s Out” and “Under My Wheels”; and Cronin’s rousing rendition of REO Speedwagon’s hit “Roll with the Changes.”
The evening’s honoree Eddie Trunk began his career in radio in 1983 when he convinced his local New Jersey radio station WDHA to let him host a hard rock/metal show, which was unprecedented at the time.
Trunk has since appeared on TV as a host on the now-defunct and widely seen VH1 Classic program That Metal Show, and he currently hosts a notable rock/metal-themed radio show on SiriusXM in addition to hosting the annual Monsters of Rock cruise festival, among other engagements involving live hard rock and classic heavy metal.
Meanwhile, Hagar and Anthony recently announced a major 2024 North American tour alongside guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani and drummer Jason Bonham. The outing kicks off next summer, and you can get tickets here.
Below you can see fan footage from Trunk’s 40th anniversary party in Las Vegas.