Van Hayden: The Van Halen Cover Band That Honors Iowa Legend Hayden Fry
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- On game days at Kinnick Stadium, Hawkeyes fans are used to seeing the Tigerhawk, the black and gold, and the iconic pink locker room. Now, they're seeing something new: a Van Halen cover band dressed as Hayden Fry, complete with aviator sunglasses and fake mustaches, rolling up in an ambulance to get the crowd fired up.
Van Hayden, the world's only Van Halen tribute band dedicated to the legendary Hawkeyes coach, has become a beloved fixture of Iowa football tailgating. The band, made up of Midwest business professionals including a pharmacist, a health plan consultant, a former tax accountant, and a web developer, is living out a dream that started as a joke during the COVID era.
How did Van Hayden get started?
In spring 2021, Jake Olson, a 51-year-old pharmacist from Milwaukee, made a pact with a friend to learn Van Halen's entire '5150' album. After they pulled it off, the idea of playing the songs live at a tailgate took shape. The name came quickly: Van Hayden, a mashup of two 1980s icons that perfectly captures Iowa pride.
'Once you have it, it's like, how come nobody else did this?' Olson said.
The band's commitment to the bit is total. They perform in Fry's standard game-day attire: black pullover with a Tigerhawk logo over a white-collared shirt, aviators, fake mustache, and white pants. Their ambulance, dubbed the Vanbulance, is striped like Eddie Van Halen's famous 'Bumblebee' guitar but in black and gold, complete with a winged VH logo and the word HAYDEN on the back.
What does the Fry family think of Van Hayden?
Dale Arens, who recently retired after 40 years with the Iowa athletic department and worked closely with Fry, said the band has the family's full blessing. Fry's son Kelly told Arens that his father would have loved the tribute.
'My dad would've gotten the biggest kick. He would've been honored on this thing,' Kelly Fry said. 'Dad would've probably said,