The Eagles have tapped Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, oldest son of co-founder Glenn Frey, to perform with them at The Classic East and West Festivals this summer. Gill and Deacon Frey will split vocal duties on songs originally handled by Frey, who died in January 2016 from a combination of rheumatoid arthritics, ulcerative colitis and pneumonia.

Despite The Eagles reuniting with “Take It Easy” co-writer Jackson Browne during the Grammy Awards last year to pay tribute to Frey, co-founder, drummer and vocalist Don Henley initially thought the band was finished, but had a change of heart.

“While I was still in shock during some interviews after Glenn passed away, I did say that I thought that was the end of the band,” Henley tells the LA Times during a backstage interview after a recent rehearsal for the upcoming festivals. “But I reserved the right to change my mind. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, ‘A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.’”

Henley states that Deacon was the most viable option to replace his dad.

“Bringing Deacon in was my idea,” Henley continues. “I think of the guild system, which in both Eastern and Western cultures is a centuries-old tradition of the father passing down the trade to his son, and to me, that makes perfect moral and ethical sense. The primary thing is I think Glenn would be good with it — with both of these guys. I think he’d go, ‘That’s the perfect way to do this.’”

While adding Gill is a surprise, he is no stranger to rock and roll. He joined Pure Prairie League, which had an Eagles vibe, in 1978 before embarking on his own country career in the late 80s and beyond. He has garnered 21 Grammy Awards, making him the most awarded male country artist in Grammy history.

“In my mind, I always thought I’d have made a good Eagle,” Gill states. “But in a million years, I never would have seen this coming. It’s pretty surreal. I turned 60 recently, and to get to be a part of this amazing legacy of songs, that’s the greatest part of all this for me.”

Henley is calling the performances “experiments,” and says, as of this writing, no decisions have been made on recording, broadcasting or streaming the shows for commercial gain. “I’m not saying that’s not going to happen. I’m just saying nobody’s brought it up yet,” he claims.

The concerts, set for July 15-16 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and July 29-30 at Citi Field in New York City, also feature Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Earth, Wind & Fire. General admission two day passes run $150-$950. More tickets are being released now that the stage design has been finalized. No single day tickets initially went on sale, but organizer and founder Irving Azoff says those will now happen on June 5th with pre-sales starting Friday, June 2nd.

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