Fifty-one years ago the Eagles started one of the longest runs of Rock & Roll popularity with “Take It Easy”. Their recordings are among the most successful in history. They have the best-selling album of all time Eagles Greatest Hits, and the third biggest, Hotel California. Tours by the Eagles have always been popular, and today they announced they’ll be performing their final tour, The Long Goodbye. It’s starting September 7th at Madison Square Garden in New York, and likely ending sometime in 2025. Dates and locations are still being determined, but here are the stops so far.
(Dates are being added as the tour progresses.)
You can see the concerts include another popular Classic Rock act, Steely Dan. Early demand has caused dates to be added to this tour of U.S. arenas.
The lineup is the main group that has toured after Glenn Frey’s death in 2016. Three of the members have been together since the 1970s…original Eagle Don Henley, plus Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit. Rounding out the band are Glenn Frey’s son Deacon, and Country artist Vince Gill. Before he became a solo act, Gill sang with an Eagles-style Country Rock band, Pure Prairie League. You might remember his lead vocal on “Let Me Love You Tonight”. Gill and Deacon Frey do a great job of carrying on the quality fans know they’ll hear at an Eagles concert.
(Joe Walsh, Vince Gill, Deacon Frey, Don Henley, & Timothy B, Schmit)
In a statement released by the band, they said they will play “as many shows in each market as the audience demands, even if it requires returning to certain cities.” The Eagles thanked fans for all the years of support, and said “This is our swan song, but the music goes on and on”.
As various media outlets reported on this story, some mentioned that the Eagles did a tour named Farewell 1 Tour in 2003. What they failed to note is that the title was just a joke, because bands like Kiss, The Who, and many more had been doing multiple “last” tours.
When I heard the announcement of the final tour, I happened to have just watched a video of a 1973 Eagles BBC concert. What struck me about it was how well the four original members started the show with four acoustic guitars and four voices in perfect harmony. Unlike some groups that have trouble replicating intricate harmonies in concert, the Eagles have always excelled at it. They’re sometimes unfairly criticized for being “too perfect” in concert, or that they only play their songs exactly as they were recorded. That’s simply not true, the band has changed up arrangements many times, it’s just that they respect their fans by making sure their shows are really good.
When we saw the Eagles in 1995 during the Hell Freezes Over tour, they were amazing, but they were also having fun, not some robotic version of perfection.
The final studio album by the Eagles was the #1 multi-million selling Long Road Out Of Eden in 2007. Now, the final tour of the Eagles is a sad reminder of the winding down of many of our best Classic Rock artists. We just have to remember how lucky we’ve been to have had them in our lives. Despite the line in “Hotel California”, the Eagles “can check out anytime” they like…and can leave.