Some albums feel like postcards from a vanished era. Hotel California remains one of the most enduring, a sun-bleached epic of Californian mythology that has drifted through decades of radio, road trips and barroom singalongs. This June, Australian Rock Collective (ARC) will bring the record back to the stage, announcing a national tour that sees the group perform the album in full, followed by a run of the Eagles’ most recognisable songs.
ARC is less a tribute act than a gathering of Australian rock lifers. The group is comprised of four musicians who helped shape the sound of modern Australian guitar music: Kram of Spiderbait, Darren Middleton of Powderfinger, Mark Wilson from Jet, and Davey Lane of You Am I. Between them sits an extraordinary resume: 33 ARIA Awards, 16 Top Ten albums and two ARIA Hall of Fame legacies through Jet and You Am I.
It is experience earned the long way. Across decades of touring, the four musicians have played everything from cramped dive bars to stadiums, written songs that feel woven into the Australian musical landscape and spent more than twenty years navigating the chaos and craft of life in rock bands.
ARC first formed in 2014, almost accidentally, when the four friends were invited to perform together at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. What began as a one-off quickly turned into something more permanent: a loose collective built on shared musical obsession and the instinctive chemistry of musicians who grew up devouring the same records.
Since then the project has evolved into something of a travelling rock history lesson. Alongside festival appearances and national tours, ARC have revisited classic albums at some of Australia’s most prestigious venues, performing landmark records such as Abbey Road, Let It Be, Harvest, The Dark Side of the Moon and Led Zeppelin IV with the enthusiasm of lifelong fans and the precision of musicians who understand the machinery inside these songs.
This time the spotlight falls squarely on Hotel California, the Eagles’ sprawling 1976 statement that fused West Coast polish with darker undercurrents. According to Davey Lane, the record still feels like a formidable challenge.
“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,” Lane says. “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.”
The tour begins June 5 in Brunswick Heads, before travelling through Brisbane, Newcastle, Thirroul, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, finishing in Perth on June 24. If ARC’s previous album performances are anything to go by, the shows promise less nostalgia than reinterpretation: four seasoned Australian musicians revisiting one of rock’s most mythic records with the kind of instinct that only comes from decades inside the music itself.
AUSTRALIAN ROCK COLLECTIVE (ARC) PLAYS EAGLES
THIS JUNE
HOTEL BRUNSWICK, BRUNSWICK HEADS, NSW
FRIDAY 5 JUNE
CONCERT HALL, QPAC, BRISBANE, QLD
SATURDAY 6 JUNE
CIVIC THEATRE, NEWCASTLE, NSW
TUESDAY 9 JUNE
ANITA’S THEATRE, THIRROUL, NSW
FRIDAY 12 JUNE
LLEWELLYN HALL, CANBERRA, ACT
SUNDAY 14 JUNE
HAMER HALL, MELBOURNE, VIC
TUESDAY 16 JUNE
CONCERT HALL, SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, SYDNEY, NSW
THURSDAY 18 JUNE
THEBARTON THEATRE, ADELAIDE, SA
SATURDAY 20 JUNE
ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH, WA
WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE
For complete tour & ticket information, visit: livenation.com.au
