Eagles Soar With Return To ‘Hotel California:’ 2021 Year End, The Great Return

Eagles
Ethan Miller / Getty Images – Eagles
THE HOTEL IS OPEN: Vince Gill, Timothy B. Schmit, Don Henley, Scott F. Crago, Deacon Frey, Joe Walsh and Steuart Smith of the Eagles perform at MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 27, 2019, in Las Vegas to launch the “Hotel California” tour that continues into 2022.

For the most part, superstar acts that could weather the storm that was COVID in 2021 hunkered down to wait it out. The Eagles, however, decided their fans had waited long enough for the resumption of its interrupted “Hotel California” tour and, after a couple of postponements, booked Madison Square Garden in New York City for two shows Aug. 22 and 24.

Sometimes, if it’s not one thing it’s another. The opener was forced into postponement, not by COVID but by Hurricane Henri bearing down on the Big Apple and causing a state of emergency to be declared. 
But no matter – the show was pushed back just three days and “Hotel California” officially relaunched Aug. 24, on what was originally planned to be the MSG run’s second night.
And what a coming back out party it was. 
The World’s Most Famous Arena saw one of the best-selling bands of all time – in both record and ticket sales – bring along a symphony orchestra and pack the joint for two cathartic nights for Eagles fans who’d suffered enough thanks to the worldwide pandemic and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers’ time off the road.    Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, Deacon Frey, Vince Gill and company let the world know the Eagles – and New York City – were back, to the tune of 22,652 tickets sold and a gross of $5,378,437 over the two glorious, tour-resuming nights.
It was a long run getting there – the “Hotel California” tour officially launched Sept. 27, 2019, with three shows at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, moving 37,578 tickets for a gross of $18,589,983. 
Even with a truncated 2020, during which touring came to a virtual standstill in mid-March, Eagles came in at No. 7 on Pollstar’s Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours chart with $33.6 million grossed on 10 shows in four cities.
And Eagles continue to bring it beyond those initial 2021 Madison Square Garden shows. 
The band, represented by Creative Artists Agency’s Rick Roskin and the team at Full Stop Management, ends Pollstar’s 2021 reporting period at No. 4 on this year’s Top 100 Worldwide Tours and Top 200 North American Tours charts, behind only The Rolling Stones’ “No Filter” stadium tour, Harry Styles’ “Love On Tour,” and the “Hella Mega Tour” of stadiums by Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy. 
Eagles ended the year playing 23 shows in 12 cities, moving 257,584 tickets and generating $59.2 million in ticket sales just since late August. 
And the band is hitting the ground running in 2022, with more “Hotel California” dates resuming Feb. 19 at Enmark Arena in Savannah, Ga., a 9,500-capacity venue that will see its grand opening in January. 
Before announcing the run that goes through May 19 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, Eagles had already announced a European leg that visits the Netherlands, Ireland and the UK.
One thing’s for sure, after Hotel California’s release in late 1976, the band’s touring profile went through the roof and remains that way 45 years later. 
So, despite a fraught year of COVID restrictions, uncertain travel and now recovery, 2021 wasn’t only wasted time. And the Eagles helped lead the way.