Australian Rock Collective Will Celebrate The 50th Anniversary Of Hotel California With A National Tour Performing The Album In Full Alongside Eagles Classics
by Paul Cashmere
Australian Rock Collective will take on one of the most significant albums in popular music this June, announcing a national tour to mark the 50th anniversary of Hotel California by The Eagles. The shows will see ARC perform the album in full, followed by a selection of Eagles favourites, across nine dates around the country.
Comprised of Kram of Spiderbait, Darren Middleton of Powderfinger, Mark Wilson of Jet and Davey Lane of You Am I, Australian Rock Collective has built a reputation over the past decade for reinterpreting cornerstone albums of the rock canon with precision and respect. Between them the four musicians account for 33 ARIA Awards, 16 Top Ten ARIA Albums and two ARIA Hall Of Fame inductions through Jet and You Am I.
Formed in 2014 after an invitation to perform at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, ARC quickly evolved from a one-off collaboration into a touring entity dedicated to revisiting the records that shaped their formative years. Their previous presentations have included Abbey Road, Let It Be, Harvest, Dark Side Of The Moon and Led Zeppelin IV, staged in major concert halls and theatres nationwide.
Hotel California, released by The Eagles in December 1976, remains one of the best-selling albums in history. Produced by Bill Szymczyk and recorded in Miami and Los Angeles, it was the band’s first album with guitarist Joe Walsh and the last to feature founding bassist Randy Meisner. The record topped the US Billboard 200 and has since been certified 28 times Platinum in the United States, with global sales exceeding 42 million copies.
The album yielded two US number one singles, Hotel California and New Kid In Town, while Life In The Fast Lane became another defining track of the era. At the 20th Grammy Awards, the title track won Record Of The Year and New Kid In Town collected Best Arrangement For Voices. Across its nine tracks, the album examined themes of fame, excess and the fading optimism of the 1960s, using California as both setting and metaphor.
ARC guitarist Davey Lane said the band is approaching the material with both reverence and ambition. “Strap yourselves in and be our esteemed guests as we set the controls for the heart of the sunny Californian state, the spirit of ’76 and one of the greatest selling albums of all time, The Eagles’ Hotel California,” Lane said. “It’s incredibly precise and loose, fast and easy, seemingly. We’re not shy of challenging ourselves and this could be the most challenging yet. We’ve been very lucky to grace some of the greatest Australian venues and concert halls over the last seven years we’ve annually done this and we’re limbering up for this to be the biggest tour yet.”
Hotel California has endured not only for its commercial success but for its cultural resonance. The image of the Beverly Hills Hotel on the cover, photographed at dusk, became inseparable from the mythology of the record. The closing track The Last Resort and the extended dual-guitar coda of the title song helped define arena rock for a generation. The Eagles themselves returned to perform the album in full during their 2020 tour, underscoring its continuing relevance nearly half a century after release.
For ARC, the tour represents both tribute and examination. As musicians who have experienced global touring, chart success and the pressures of the industry, the band bring lived perspective to songs that dissect the costs of ambition and celebrity.
Australian Rock Collective Hotel California 50th Anniversary Tour Dates
Friday 5 June, Brunswick Heads, Hotel Brunswick
Saturday 6 June, Brisbane, Concert Hall QPAC
Tuesday 9 June, Newcastle, Civic Theatre
Friday 12 June, Thirroul, Anita’s Theatre
Sunday 14 June, Canberra, Llewellyn Hall
Tuesday 16 June, Melbourne, Hamer Hall
Thursday 18 June, Sydney, Concert Hall Sydney Opera House
Saturday 20 June, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Wednesday 24 June, Perth, Astor Theatre
Tickets go on sale Friday 27 February at 11am local time.
Live Nation presale runs Thursday 26 February at 10am to Friday 27 February at 10am.
Sydney Opera House Insiders presale runs Thursday 26 February at 10am to Friday 27 February at 10am, Sydney only.
Sydney Opera House What’s On presale runs Thursday 26 February at 12pm to Friday 27 February at 10am, Sydney only.
All times are local. For complete tour and ticket information visit livenation.com.au.
Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here
Be the first to see NOISE11.com’s newest interviews and special features on YouTube. See things first—Subscribe to Noise11 on YouTube
Follow Noise11.com on social media:
Bluesky
Facebook – Comment on the news of the day
