The Eagles have announced an extension of their Las Vegas residency at Sphere into 2025, following a successful 2024 season and “overwhelming demand” from fans. This concert series allows the legendary rock band to continue showcasing their timeless legacy, but not without some challenges, as guitarist Joe Walsh reveals.
While the Eagles are no strangers to touring with iconic hits like “Hotel California” and “Take It Easy,” the advanced visual and technical aspects of the Sphere residency initially posed difficulties for the seasoned musicians.
“It’s very different onstage,” Walsh told Rolling Stone. “There are some non-musical things that we have to put up with to make it all work, and we’re OK with that. We’ve had to learn how to do it. At first, it was maybe a deal-breaker, but we’ve learned how to do it.”
Walsh explained that the Sphere features an impressive 160,000 speakers behind the screen. “No matter where you sit, you have speakers pointing at you, so they don’t have to be really loud,” he noted. However, this setup requires a slight delay in sound processing.
“If we’re aware of that, we can’t play,” Walsh said, likening the experience to singing the national anthem at a baseball stadium, where sound reflections from different field sections create confusion.
To combat these challenges, the Eagles rely on special in-ear monitors, allowing them to hear themselves clearly amidst the unique sound environment. “It’s all there, and everybody hears everything at the same time,” Walsh explained. “Adjusting to what we do is different than 30 years of touring that we know about.”
