BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Wolfgang Van Halen is no stranger to the spotlight or rubbing elbows with rock royalty.

He joined the family business at 15 when he became the new bassist for Van Halen. Wolfgang’s own band, Mammoth WVH, has toured with such hard rock heavyweights as Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Alter Bridge.

But the son of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen and actress Valerie Bertinelli admits even he still gets butterflies in his stomach around certain musicians.

“When I met Les Claypool, I was a nervous wreck. When I met (Tool front man) Maynard (James Keenan) when we were doing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing, I was a nervous wreck. It just has to be people that really mean the world to me in terms of their artistic output and how I look up to them as a musician,” Van Halen tells 69 News. “At this point, I’ve hung out with Slash so much that it’s like, we’re friends, so it’s not a (nervous) thing.”

Mammoth WVH is set to return to the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem on March 14. Their last visit to the Lehigh Valley was in 2024, when the band opened for Creed and 3 Doors Down at the PPL Center in Allentown.

“If you are at all interested or enjoy our new record, we’re definitely going to be playing some new stuff and it’s just gonna be 90-plus minutes of dudes up there playing rock music,” Van Halen says. “If I’m going to pat myself on the back, I would say it’s nice that we have a flexible enough catalog to open for all these bands that we can cater our sets; make it a heavier one or a lighter, which is pretty cool.”

Mammoth WVH is hitting the road this summer in support of their third album, 2025’s “The End.” The recording process marked a beginning for the 34-year-old songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

Van Halen says making the album gave him confidence in himself as his own artist rather than worrying about what others were going to say or do. 

“I think the pressure of being a newer act and like, ‘oh can he do it?’, trying to prove myself, that anxiety wasn’t as prevalent as it was for the first two records. I think this time around, I kind of let go of expectations and what people were going to think of me and just enjoyed the process. I didn’t care if somebody was going to compare it to my dad or to Van Halen or that I should be doing this or I should be doing that; I just followed what sounded good and what was fun to make,” he says. “I just did what felt right and what felt good at the time and I think it made for a healthier, stronger record.”

As he did with Mammoth WVH’s first two albums, Van Halen wrote all of the songs on “The End” and recorded all of the instruments for it.

“I think it forces me to grow as an artist,” he says. “If I want to sing something a certain way, I gotta figure out how to do that; if I want to play something a certain way, I need to figure it out and I think I’m richer for the experience on the other side of it.” 

Van Halen says he still enjoys attacking the songwriting from every angle. “I don’t know if I’m ready to give that up yet,” he says. “Maybe by Mammoth 9, if I don’t feel like playing drums, maybe it’ll change, but right now I’m still really enjoying it.”

Taking such creative ownership has been both challenging and rewarding for him. “I think that’s what’s so special about it,” Van Halen says. “Starting with nothing and then ending with something you’re incredibly proud of and something you’re happy to listen to and just brings you joy and fulfillment is kind of all I need really; it’s just a very fun thing.”

Mammoth WVH performs 7 p.m. March 14 at Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem. Tickets start at $53.50.