The Eagles return to iconic California venue for a night of tributes, cameos, and peaceful, easy feelings

As they bid farewell to the Forum, the band is giving the best of their love.

The Eagles may be saying goodbye, but they're leaving fans with a peaceful, easy feeling.

For those who've been to one of the group's shows since member Glenn Frey's death in 2016, their Long Goodbye farewell tour will offer a familiar balm. But if much of the set list (the greatest hits we all want to hear), the video projections, and the lineup remain the same, the Eagles continue to bring the best of their love to fans as they prepare to wrap their decades-long journey on the road (supposedly).

Currently in the midst of a four-show sold-out run at Los Angeles' Kia Forum, the band still has the capacity to surprise and soothe. On Saturday night, frontman Don Henley reflected on the fact that the evening marked their 24th outing at the venue over the course of 49 years. "This is our home field and you're the home team," he mused. "At this stage of the game, we're delighted to be pretty much anywhere."

Here, five highlights you can expect from their Long Goodbye California concerts.

J.D. Souther

Though the Eagles launched their farewell tour, The Long Goodbye, last fall, they have a special surprise guest in tow for their Forum shows: original songwriter J.D. Souther. Though Souther was never an official member of the group, he was responsible for some of their biggest hits, including "Best of My Love" and "Heartache Tonight." Most notably, he wrote three of their five No. 1 singles.

Souther joined the Eagles for two of the songs he helped write, "Best of My Love" and "New Kid in Town," during Saturday's performance. While the band has lost several members over the years, they have also maintained an understanding of their own history — and seeing Souther, who has helped define their SoCal country-rock sound, felt like a little piece of the universe falling back into its rightful place, even if only for a few moments. To cap off the night, Souther rejoined the group for the show's final song, "Heartache Tonight," sending the crowd out into the brisk January night on a playful, celebratory note.

Tributes to late friends

What would a farewell tour be without honoring some of the musicians who've left us? Following Frey's death in 2016, the Eagles' shows have had a touch of melancholy, a deference to their late brother. That's still there, in a tribute to his beloved track "Peaceful Easy Feeling," sung by his son Deacon. As they've done since the Classic West show in 2017, the Eagles end the number with a photo of Frey and his guitar projected behind them.

But they've seen more losses. Henley noted the death of longtime bass player Randy Meisner in 2023, dedicating "Take It to the Limit," for which Meisner sang the original vocals, to their late colleague.

The Long Goodbye shows are also a tribute to the 1970s as a whole, with Steely Dan kicking off Saturday night with an hour of tunes; Henley called the groups "'70s survivors." That meant honoring more late friends, specifically Jimmy Buffett, who died last September. Buffett and his Coral Reefer band opened for the Eagles in 1975 and joined them on tour in 2018, and the Eagles played at Buffett's wedding to his second wife, Jane, in 1977. Fittingly, Henley dedicated his solo track "The Boys of Summer" to Buffett, who practically embodied the season with his Margaritaville lifestyle.

Deacon Frey comes into his own

After Glenn Frey died, the band surmised that the Eagles' touring days were over. But they decided to give live performances without him a shot at Classic West, bringing out Frey's then 24-year-old son, Deacon, to sing a few of his dad's tunes. At that point, Deacon was a timid kid in a Dodgers jersey. But he's spent eight years performing with the group (minus a brief exit in 2022) and honing his craft — and this farewell tour could be considered his coming-out party.

Previously, Deacon was often buoyed by the original members' backup vocals, while much of the heavy lifting was left to country singer Vince Gill, who also stepped in to fill Frey's shoes. Now Deacon's voice is the richest, most resonant of the bunch, confident and soulful on songs like "Take It Easy" and "Peaceful Easy Feeling." Apart from the visible age difference (though at the right angle, it's easy to envision Deacon as his father at his 1970s peak, shoulder-length hair and mustache included), he could easily pass as a member of the band. If this truly is the end for the Eagles, let's hope it's just the beginning for Deacon.

Don Henley in top form

Maybe it's the feeling that this is really goodbye, but the tour finds Henley more energized and keyed in than he's been in a long time. Though the band kept their introductions and banter to a minimum, Henley seemed genuinely verklempt at the opportunity to entertain generations of fans. He opened the show announcing that the group was there "to give you a two-hour vacation from all the chaos and turmoil going on in the world." They succeeded.

And when he took to the middle of the stage, a single spotlight illuminating him against a cascade of digital stars, to sing "Desperado," the concert's penultimate number, he seemed to transcend time and space, linking eras of Eagle lovers who packed the sold-out Forum. His voice conveyed both the youthful arrogance of the original 1973 recording of the track and the life experience of nearly 50 years of performing. At that moment, Henley didn't just let somebody love him — he let all of us in.

Joe Walsh gonna Joe Walsh

Rock and roll has no shortage of cutups and characters in its ranks, but few are as divinely silly as Joe Walsh. Dubbed the "Clown Prince of Rock," Walsh is still up to his signature antics at 76 years old, pulling faces while he shreds and enlisting the audience for a call-and-response on "Life's Been Good." It's still hard to decide what's more fun — watching Walsh play as one of the greatest guitarists to ever do it, or soaking in his effervescent, impish energy as he refuses to grow up.

The Eagles will continue their farewell tour, The Long Goodbye, throughout 2024.

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Related content:

• The Eagles announce final tour: 'This is our swan song'

• Randy Meisner, Eagles co-founder and 'Take It to the Limit' singer, dies at 77

• Vince Gill on Okie, the new class of country artists, and playing with the Eagles
  

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