Inside Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts this Saturday, June 20, 2026 evening, fans of country rock are prepared to take it to the limit at a concert by the popular Eagles tribute band, Eaglemania.
One of the most successful groups of all time, the Eagles were founded in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner. Over time, Leadon was replaced by Joe Walsh and Meisner by Timothy B. Schmidt, and Don Felder joined the band from 1974 to 2001. Following the passing of Glenn Frey, Vince Gill and Deacon Frey were recruited to carry the group’s legacy forward.
Executive Director Heidi Sheridan welcomes the crowd to tonight’s sold out performance and the lights dim as the members of Eaglemania — keyboardist Frankie Reno; bassist Dennis Espantman; guitarist/vocalist Ken Darcy, drummer Ron Negro, lead vocalist Marc Hoffman, and guitarists Josh Leclerc and Tommy Grasso — take the stage.
Opening with “The Long Run,” Ron Negro keeps time as Marc Hoffman cries, “You can go the distance, we’ll find out/In the long run,” on this 1980 Top Ten Eagles hit.
The crowd cheers and Hoffman announces, “Everybody, clap your hands!” to the Eagles’ 1979 chart-topper, “Heartache Tonight,” where audience members clap along as they join in singing the tune’s pulsating “There’s gonna be a heartache tonight/A heartache tonight, I know” refrain.
Rhythmic guitar work accents five-part vocal harmonies on the Eagles’ 1972 Top Ten tune, “Witchy Woman.” Afterwards, Ken Darcy addresses the crowd exclaiming, “We’ve got a great show tonight — two hours of all hits!” as Hoffman takes over for Reno on keyboards while Reno switches over to acoustic guitar and Darcy sings lead on the Eagles’ 1972 Top 40 hit, “Peaceful Easy Feeling.”
Darcy is also featured on the 1975 country-rocker, “Lying Eyes,” before six-part a cappella harmonies ring out on 1980’s “Seven Bridges Road.”
Hoffman explains that all the music Eaglemania performs is created live without the use of prerecorded tracks prior to dedicating the group’s next song to Eagles’ founding member Randy Meisner. On “Take It to the Limit,” Eagles fans sing along with the group on the tune’s powerful “Take it to the limit/One more time” coda.
Josh Leclerc impresses with a wah-wah pedal guitar solo on the rockin’ “Walk Away” before Hoffman’s lead vocal is spotlighted on the 1975 Eagles smash, “One of These Nights.”
Tommy Grasso’s guitar talents are on display as four-part vocals harmonize on the 1978 soft-rock tune, “I Can’t Tell You Why,” after which Hoffman and Darcy sing together on “Rocky Mountain Way.”
Darcy’s talk box guitar solo brings cheers from the crowd on this Joe Walsh blues number before Frankie Reno renders a keyboard solo backed by Dennis Espantman on bass.
Audience members join Hoffman and Co. on the “Oh-oh-oh-oh, sweet darling” refrain of 1975’s “Best of My Love.” Then, Darcy follows up by accompanying himself on acoustic guitar while leading the 1973 country-rocker, “Tequila Sunrise.”
The crowd hoots and hollers and Darcy exclaims, “This song put the Eagles on the map!” as he and the band launch into the 1978 Grammy-winning Record of the Year, “Hotel California.” Music lovers sing along on the tune’s “Welcome to the Hotel California” refrain before Leclerc and Grasso recreate the legendary Don Felder/Joe Walsh “Hotel California” guitar duet on double- and single-neck electric guitars to enthusiastic cheers and applause.
Reno’s keyboards kick off Eaglemania’s rendition of Don Henley’s 1984 hit, “The Boys of Summer,” which has fans on their feet dancing in the rear of the theater.
Leclerc’s fuzz guitar is featured on “Get Over It,” where concertgoers clap along and Negro is featured on a precision drum solo. Then, on Joe Walsh’s 1970 song for The James Gang, “Funk 49,” Grasso and Leclerc duel as they offer up a string of guitar riffs from songs including Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “Takin’ Care of Business,” Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” to hoots, hollers, whistles, and applause.
On the Eagles’ 1974 Top 40 hit, “Already Gone,” Darcy leads the audience in singing a melodic three-note counterpoint which is overlayed on the tune’s “And I’m already gone/And I’m feelin’ strong” refrain.
Following “Life’s Been Good,” where staccato keys support Leclerc’s dynamic guitar solo, Eaglemania concludes tonight’s performance with the Eagles’ 1976 Top 20 hit, “Life in the Fast Line.” Concertgoers stand, clap, and sing along on the song’s “Life in the fast lane/Surely make you lose your mind” lyric while guitars riff before signing off with a snippet of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze.”
As Eagles fans continue to stand and cheer, the musicians exit the stage and Hoffman returns to ask, “Do you want to hear a couple more?” The crowd responds in the affirmative as Reno accompanies on keys while Hoffman sings an encore of the Don Henley/Glenn Frey ballad, “Desperado.”
At the conclusion, Hoffman announces, “Now here’s the one that started it all!” and concertgoers rise for the Eagles’ 1972 debut single, “Take It Easy.” After the musicians come downstage and play, Hoffman exclaims, “We are Eaglemania!” on this final encore to hoots, hollers, whistles, and applause from the standing crowd.
To learn more about Eaglemania, please go to eaglemaniaband.com. For information on upcoming performances at the Grunin Center — including My Fair Lady from July 10 to July 19, The Doo Wop Project on August 30, jazz vocalist Veronica Swift on October 15, and Magical Mystery Doors on October 24 — please click on grunincenter.org.
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