The Eagles appeared at Spring Fest on the campus of Southern Illinois University/Edwardsville (SIUE). Livingston Taylor (James’ brother) opened.
The previous night, Glenn Frey had been arrested following the Eagles’ concert at Mershon Auditorium in Columbus. He was charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and public intoxication.
OSU Lantern, May 25, 1973
Mugshot
Glenn made no mention of the arrest in a backstage interview in Edwardsville. He talked about the difference between “superfans,” who want to get as close to the stage a possible, and music fans, who stay a few rows back because they want to hear the music.
Randy Meisner, Bernie Leadon, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey were photographed in the afternoon prior to their appearance at Spring Fest. Photo by John Milazzo (Focus magazine, October 1974)
Dan Fogelberg opened. They also invited a few guests to join them. That’s Randy with the beard in the photos from the show.
Los Angles Times, December 29, 1974
Daily Trojan (USC), January 10, 1975
Randy (left) with J.D. Souther
“When midnight arrived, the Eagles treated everybody to a bluegrass treatment of ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ released a passelfull of balloons and let loose a gorilla who threw bananas to the audience.Then they invited a few of their friends, including Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne and opening act Dan Fogelberg–on stage to join them for ‘Take It Easy.'” (San Pedro News-Pilot, January 4, 1975) Joe Walsh was also among the guests.
L-R: Randy, Joe Walsh, Dan Fogelberg, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne.