The band of “Hotel California” fame is checking out. But only time will tell if they can ever leave.
The Eagles recently announced that they will launch a farewell tour, which they’re calling “The Long Goodbye,” on Sept. 7 in New York City. Other cities include Boston; Denver; Indianapolis; Detroit; Cleveland; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; Lexington, Ky.; and St. Paul, Minn. Press reports say the tour will run through 2025.
“The Eagles have had a miraculous 52-year odyssey, performing for people all over the globe. … But, everything has its time, and the time has come for us to close the circle,” the group said in a statement.
Members of the ensemble include Don Henley, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, who will be joined on the farewell tour by Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, the son of the late founding Eagles member Glenn Frey. Among the Eagles’ many hits are “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Take It Easy” and, of course, “Hotel California.”
The news comes just a couple of months after Aerosmith, another iconic rock group, announced they were launching their farewell tour with a show in Philadelphia on Sept. 2.
Some music fans may be skeptical about whether artists are sincere when they say they’re calling it quits. They have reason to be doubtful: If you go through the annals of rock ‘n’ roll, you’ll find countless artists who came back after their official goodbye from the stage.
Cher announced her retirement as a concert act in 2002 with “Living Proof: The Farewell Tour” but came back in 2014. The Who called it quits in 1982 but returned to the road in 1989.
And the Eagles have said goodbye before — with a tour that started in 2003 and was dubbed “Farewell I.”
Aerosmith has also done a previous “final” tour, announcing its goodbye with a series of shows in 2016. As guitarist Joe Perry told Billboard magazine at the time, “we all know our age is creeping up on us.” But then he walked back that remark, adding, “When will it end? That I can’t say.”
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So why do artists say they’re saying goodbye, only to return? Music-industry pros and experts say there can be genuine reasons — an artist might miss performing, the fans and the life, to say nothing of the money.
Tours by prominent artists can be huge sellers: The Rolling Stones, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Elton John have each grossed more than $1.5 billion on the road over the last four decades, according to Pollstar, a company that tracks the industry. Aerosmith’s grosses during the same period are a somewhat more modest $603 million.
But experts also say there’s no doubt some artists announce farewell tours for a less-than-legitimate reason — namely, as a marketing ploy to boost ticket sales for that tour.
Some fans are clearly tired of the game. As one tweeted after the recent Aerosmith announcement, “I am really really bored of these [bands] that retire and then retire then retire and finally retire. Stay RETIRED.”
Steven Hyde, a music critic and author of a book called “Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock,” told MarketWatch that it wouldn’t surprise him if Aerosmith lived up to its farewell announcement this time. He noted that the band members are not only getting older — singer Steven Tyler is 75, Perry is 72 — but that they’ve hardly been known for their take-it-easy lifestyles. Tyler has been in and out of drug rehab over the past few decades.
At the same time, Hyde said, fans shouldn’t be prepared to file claims with the Better Business Bureau if an artist unretires.
“If you’re a ticket buyer and you’re taking a farewell tour at face value, I feel like maybe you’re a little gullible,” he said.
That said, if you want to buy tickets for the Eagles’ “Long Goodbye” tour, which is being presented by concert-industry giant Live Nation, you’ll have your chance next week. Presale tickets and VIP packages will be sold beginning July 12, followed by a general sale beginning July 14 at 10 a.m.
