Don Felder. Scott Legato/Getty Images
Former Eagles guitarist Don Felder was rushed off stage after suffering a medical emergency on Thursday, February 13.
“[Don] is feeling much better,” his management team assured fans in an Instagram Story posted Friday, February 14.
Video footage shot from the audience at Thursday’s performance on the Rock Legends Cruise XII appeared to show Felder, 77, dedicating a cover of “Tequila Sunrise” to his late Eagles bandmate Glenn Frey. Felder started strumming his guitar before suddenly appearing dazed and grabbing his stage microphone to steady himself.
A stagehand could be seen rushing to support Felder before his bandmates helped him get backstage amidst gasps from the crowd.
“We love you, Don,” one fan could be heard shouting as Felder was led away.
Following the scary incident, Felder’s management team released a statement via his Instagram Story to confirm that the guitarist had been treated for dehydration.
“We appreciate everyone’s concern regarding Don Felder’s abrupt stop to his show last night on the Rock Legends Cruise,” the statement began. “After receiving medical attention, he was deemed to be suffering from dehydration. He was given fluids and is feeling much better.”
Felder was scheduled to perform several more times on the Rock Legends Cruise, including on Friday, but will now be taking some time off to recuperate.
“We are working on rescheduling [Friday’s] shows and adjusting the remainder of the cruise schedule accordingly,” the statement went on. “Thank you for your understanding and remember, drink your water!”
Felder was one of many classic rock icons headlining the cruise when it set sail from Miami on Wednesday, February 12, and now heads to CocoCay in the Bahamas. Alice Cooper, Styx, John Waite and Foghat are among the other notable acts set to perform on the Independence of the Seas cruiseliner before it docks Monday, February 17.
Eagles fans also recently learned that the band’s touring guitarist Steuart Smith, who replaced Felder in the band in 2001, was retiring after being diagnosed with Parkinsonism, which is a collection of movement symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease and other conditions.
“It is with profound regret that, due to performance issues associated with my recently diagnosed Parkinsonism, I find that I must bow out of my role with the Eagles while I can still do so gracefully,” he told the Los Angeles Times in January. “It’s been a great quarter of a century, and I had hoped to be able to finish out this year with the band, but I must now do what’s best for all concerned.”
Smith, 72, performed with the band during their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere from September 20 to December 14, 2024, but was not present for the Eagles’ return to the venue in January. He served as co-lead guitarist with Joe Walsh for the past 24 years.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images Steuart Smith has announced his retirement as the Eagles’ lead guitarist after being diagnosed with Parkinsonism. Smith, 72, served as the band’s touring co-lead guitarist for 24 years alongside Joe Walsh. Smith joined the Eagles for the first part of their Las Vegas residency at the Sphere from September 20 to December […]
The group’s drummer and vocalist, Don Henley, later confirmed that session guitarist Chris Holt would be replacing Smith for the remaining Sphere shows.
“The Eagles will be forever grateful for the extraordinary talents that [Smith] brought to both our recordings and live performances,” Henley, 77, said in a statement. “Steuart will be greatly missed, but he will always be a part of our musical family. We know our many fans join us in wishing him well.”
The group’s cofounder Frey died in January 2016 following complications of rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis and pneumonia. Frey had battled rheumatoid arthritis since 2000 and had to cancel a tribute to the Eagles at the Kennedy Center Honors event in December 2015 shortly before his death.
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