It was a somewhat eventful Saturday evening as legendary guitarist Don Felder(formerly of The Eagles) took the stage for an intimate evening of music and storytelling at the Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque, Iowa. It was eventful in the sense that we had a snowstorm in Iowa with it almost being May! Yet, Don Felder made us forget about the snowstorm with a wonderful night of music!
The venue was a gorgeous venue. It was located inside the Diamond Jo Casino just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the mighty Mississippi River. The venue had a disco ball with a bar in the back and slot machines located in the far corner of the venue. Chairs were set up with comfortable booths in the back and a balcony, which made it almost have a feel of an old opera theater. There was no opening act, and I was a bit taken aback that there was no merch table set up because I wanted to pick up Don Felder’s latest album “American Rock & Roll”.
Don Felder took the stage and the crowd was excited to hear some Eagles classics and other cuts from Don Felder’s solo catalog. This evening took me back to my childhood where I grew up on a variety of music ranging from Johnny Cash to Def Leppard to Journey to the family’s favorite The Eagles. After Don Felder performed the Eagles classic “Already Gone”, I immediately got chills and had tears well up in my eyes when he performed “One Of These Nights”. The backing band sounded crisp and on point while Don Felder made his guitar weep through this song. The song perfectly set the tone for the evening as it made me remember why I loved The Eagles so much from my youth to now as a grown adult pushing 40 years old. Fans were given a little bonus treat as Don Felder covered the Stevie Ray Vaughan classic “Pride And Joy”. He played that guitar to where Vaughan gave his seal of approval from heaven above.
The beautiful thing about this evening was that we were let in on some inside scoop to how the songs came about. The storytelling that Don Felder told was eye opening in the sense that he taught Tom Petty how to play guitar, to very humorous over the storytelling of “Tequila Sunrise”, to bringing us back to the golden age of the 1970’s with the set closer “Hotel California”.
Don Felder reminded us with his incredible arrangements and vibrant storytelling why we fall in love with music and why The Eagles are one of the all-time top selling rock bands. Don, if you’re reading this, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the songs and the stories. You reminded us why we love music in the first place.
Setlist:
Already Gone
One Of These Nights
Pride & Joy(Stevie Ray Vaughan Cover)
Victim of Love
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Tequila Sunrise
Seven Bridges Road
Those Shoes
American Rock n Roll
Heavy Metal
Witchy Woman
The Long Run
Heartache Tonight
Life In The Fast Line
Take It Easy
Hotel California
Check out Don Felder at the following gigs:
Sun. 5/5-5/7- Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida
Sat. 6/22- Ironstone Amphitheatre in Murphys, California
Sat. 7/6- Summer Music Festival in Ellicottville, New York
Thu. 7/11-Fri. 7/12- Buck Hill Ski & Snowboard in Burnsville, Minnesota
Sun. 7/14- Hudson Gardens & Events Center in Littleton, Colorado
Fri. 8/9- Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada
Sat. 9/14- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi
Thu. 12/5 and Fri. 12/6- Dosey Doe in Spring, Texas
Sat. 2/15/20- ’70’s Rock and Romantic Cruise in Miami, Florida
For tickets and further information on any of the gigs listed above, click here.
Fans can find DON FELDER at the following locations:
www.facebook.com/donfeldermusic
www.instagram.com/donfeldermusic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPry8S2BxPI
Nice review. I’ve got 20 years on you, but I know where you’re coming from. Your words make me want to take my husband — the bigger Eagles fan — for his upcoming birthday, just like I took him to see the Steve Miller Band. Thanks!