The SF GATE recently caught up with Sammy at his restaurant El Paseo in Mill Valley for a quick Q&A about the upcoming annual Acoustic-4-A-Cure concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco THIS SUNDAY May 15th! The concert is a pediatric cancer benefit concert with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Train’s Pat Monahan, John Mayer, Melissa Etheridge, Joe Satriani and others.

The concert is sold out, but you can read more details about it here: http://www.redrocker.com/events/2016-05-15/3rd-annual-acoustic-4-cure

Sammy Hagar doesn’t really have to work anymore, not after selling off a big chunk of his Cabo Wabo Tequila. But he can’t help himself. The Red Rocker, 68, will spend the summer playing a handful of live dates with his second supergroup, the Circle; hosting his radio show, “Top Rock Countdown”; and filming his AXS TV series, “Rock & Roll Road Trip.” But first, Hagar will throw the latest Acoustic-4-A-Cure pediatric cancer benefit concert, with Metallica’s James Hetfield, Train’s Pat Monahan, John Mayer, Melissa Etheridge, Joe Satriani and others. He spoke to us at his Mill Valley restaurant, El Paseo.

Q: You have the restaurants, you have the book, you have Cabo Wabo, you have the tequila and your rum. You got a dog-walking business too?

A: No, I actually sold that.

Q: Where do you find the time?

A: I’m one of them people that I wake up in the morning and I just start going after things that I’m passionate about. I don’t have enough years left in my life to accomplish everything I want to accomplish.

Q: What made you want to do Acoustic-4-A-Cure?

A: If you write a check, it’s fine, but you don’t feel anything. I prefer to donate my time. You go there, and you play music, and your fans pay to see you. You take the money, and you give it to this thing. There’s no silent auction. We’re not going to show you pictures of babies dying. We’re not going to have doctors up there giving you these big long speeches that bum you out. It’s a f— concert. Just come and enjoy the show.

Q: And people get to see something special?

A: They get to see these people like they’ve never seen them. Who gets to see James Hetfield on an acoustic guitar singing “In My Life” by the Beatles? I’m just going, whoa, this is worth a hundred bucks right here! This year we’ve got all kinds of cool duets.

Q: How do you get someone like John Mayer involved? Do you just call him up?

A: Yeah. We call each person. The first year James called Billie Joe Armstrong (of Green Day). I called Pat Monahan (of Train), who honestly deserves to be called a third partner on this. This year Bob Weir was on. I called him up and he said, “Oh yeah, man, sure. I’ll do anything.” Then he comes back a month later and he goes, “Whoa, dude, I didn’t realize I’ll be in Canada.” But he hooked me up with John.

Q: Do you have a wish list you’re working off of?

A: Well, there are so many great Bay Area musicians. I want Bonnie Raitt. I want Steve Miller. I want Neil Young to do it. I feel a little bit of egg on my face talking to him because he’s like, “Wait a minute, dude, I started this s—, and you’re ripping me off.” That’s why I try to keep it in a small space. James and I could do a $10 ticket and fill an arena, but it would be a cold atmosphere for an acoustic thing. The Fillmore is perfect. It’s the best venue in the world.

Q: What’s going on with your own music? Is it just a hobby now?

A: It’s not what I do for a living. It’s really not. That makes it great. That’s why I still walk out there with passion.

Aidin Vaziri is The San Francisco Chronicle’s pop music critic. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @MusicSF Acoustic-4-A-Cure: 8 p.m. Sunday, May 15. $135. The Fillmore, 1805 Geary Blvd., S.F. www.livenation.com.