Eagles Continue Vegas Residency As Joe Walsh Battles Flu

The Eagles performed without guitarist Joe Walsh at Sphere on Jan. 24 after he came down with the flu, marking their first show without him since he joined the band in 1975.

"We had a choice to make," Don Henley told the audience. "We could either cancel the whole thing, or we could man up and do the show. So we came down here this afternoon and had an emergency rehearsal for two hours. And fortunately, in this band, we have a deep bench."

Walsh's guitar parts were largely covered by Deacon Frey and Vince Gill. Frey, who joined the Eagles in 2017 after the death of his father, Glenn Frey, took on Walsh's signature "Hotel California" guitar solo alongside new guitarist Chris Holt. Gill handled lead vocals on "In the City," "Life's Been Good" and "Rocky Mountain Way." The only song cut from the setlist was the James Gang classic "Funk 49," which would have been difficult to perform without Walsh. Instead, the band played "Best of My Love."

The previous night, Walsh managed to play most of the show, though "Rocky Mountain Way" was dropped from the set, and he missed several songs and the closing bow. "He was sick last night," Henley said. "But he heroically made it through most of the show... Joe's going to be okay. He just needs some time. Give him some love."

Thursday's concert marked the Eagles' 46th show at Sphere since beginning their residency in September 2024. The setlist has largely remained consistent due to the complex visuals accompanying each song, though tracks such as "The End of the Innocence," "Those Shoes," and "Please Come Home for Christmas" have not been performed every night.

"It's good to be in the room with you tonight," Henley told the crowd. "We can all be on the same page tonight because music is a universal language and music is medicine. After the week we've had, we could all use some medicine. I'm not going to do much talking. I'm not going to do much jumping around. I'm not going to do any squatting. I'm just going to play the hell out of this guitar. I've been playing these songs for you for 53 years now. It's been a privilege and an honor."

In other news, the Eagles' first greatest hits collection has become the first album to be certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, signifying more than 40 million copies sold. "I'm not sure we got paid for all that," Henley joked at Sphere. "It's just Spotify."

The band is scheduled to resume its Sphere residency on Jan. 30, which should give Walsh enough time to recover. If he is not ready by then, the group has demonstrated that the show can go on without him, even if it is slightly surreal to see Gill perform his songs.