Eaglemania Will Bring Eagles Hits To Bay Street Theater October 19 And 20

For years, the title holder for the best-selling album of all time in the United States was Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”—but this summer the King of Pop’s diamond record was surpassed by a compilation album: The Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975.”

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, “Their Greatest Hits,” released in 1976, has sold 38 million copies inclusive of album sales, track sales and streams—because who doesn’t love “Take It Easy,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Take It To The Limit”?—while “Thriller” has shipped 33 million to date. Rounding out the top three is The Eagles’ other 1976 release, “Hotel California,” with 26 million sold.

Between the music of the Eagles and the solo work of Don Henley, Glenn Frey and Joe Walsh, the acclaimed cover band Eaglemania has no shortage of beloved songs to pick from when planning a set. Eaglemania, in a rare Long Island appearance, will bring Eagles hits to Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on both Friday and Saturday, October 19 and 20.

The band formed about seven years ago, but the lead vocalist, Long Island native J.D. Kelly, joined just last year. In an interview this month, he described how his initial skepticism quickly turned to excitement when it was suggested that he join an Eagles cover band.

“I had just come back from the U.K.,” Mr. Kelly recalled. “I was putting together an Elton John tribute, and the phone rang, and it was a drummer friend of mine who works with a Led Zeppelin tribute called Kashmir. He said, ‘They’re looking for a lead singer in a group called Eaglemania, and I put your name in the hat, and I hope you don’t mind.’

“I was pissed. Like, ‘Why would you do that?’”

But his friend, Paul Cooper, assured him that Eaglemania was the real deal.

Within two minutes of checking Eaglemania’s website, Mr. Kelly was beside himself. He said he was impressed with how professional the band was and the great gigs it booked. Eaglemania had worked its way up from playing in bars to playing theaters and large outdoor events.

Within a few days, Mr. Kelly met the band members—their personalities were a great fit, he said—he auditioned, and he was in.

Now 59 years old, the Holbrook resident got his start singing in cover bands when he was 13.

“I was born in Brunswick Hospital in Amityville,” he said. He grew up in Lindenhurst, then Hauppauge, then Massapequa Park, and graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1977.

“I’ve been in a lot of cover bands going back into the late ’70s early ’80s,” he said.

He also made original music with the melodic rock band From the Fire, which released its debut album in 1991, “Thirty Days and Dirty Nights.” Though the band broke up a year later, a German record label reissued their debut in 2009, and a new fan base arose in Europe. They reunited in 2014 and have put out two new albums since then.

But Eaglemania certainly demands much of Mr. Kelly’s attention lately.

“I’m born and raised on Long Island, and I’m so excited about this because this band plays mostly in New Jersey and west,” he said of Eaglemania. “We go down to Florida, we go out to Wisconsin, we’re going to be going to Colorado, which is really exciting—but I live here. And I’m so excited about it. I love Sag Harbor. I love all of Long Island.”

Mr. Kelly said that, before he landed his position with Eaglemania, he had always loved the Eagles—the songwriting, and the whole ethos of the band. “I thought I knew them really well, but I was apparently wrong,” he admitted. “Because when I had to really sit down and cover Don Henley, I had to get to know every nuance of everything they did. It was a big learning curve.”

Mr. Kelly does most of the singing for Eaglemania, because he sings all of the Henley songs—he’s currently working on “New York Minute,” one of Henley’s hit singles as a solo artist—plus Timothy B. Schmit songs and one Walsh tune. “Everybody in the band could sing lead vocals,” he said. “There’s actually three of us that take leads at different parts.”

Frankie Reno, the keyboardist who also founded and leads Eaglemania, sings Walsh songs such as “Funk #49” and “Rocky Mountain Way,” and guitarist Ken Darcy sings the Frey songs.

Rounding out the band are John Gaechter on guitar, Jon Weiswasser on drums and Dennis Espantman on bass.

“Everybody does background vocals,” Mr. Kelly added, noting that all of the music and vocals are performed live. “We don’t do anything pre-recorded up on stage. Everything we do on stage is done live, so we all have a lot of heavy lifting as far as harmonies, leads, and back and forth.”

They come prepared. “Instead of having a bunch of guys who are all about image and flash and jumping up and down—you know, that kind of thing—you got six guys up on stage that are all seasoned and they’re more concerned about the craft. They’re more concerned about doing the best they possibly can, delivering songs as accurately as we can. What happens is that, since we’ve done all the homework, we just have a great time up on stage.”

The Eagles and Eaglemania haven’t crossed paths before, but Mr. Kelly spoke to The Press just before the weekend of October 6, when The Eagles were playing a concert at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and Eaglemania was playing a show the night before at Infinity Music Hall in the same city.

The Eagles lineup now includes only one original member, Don Henley, who is joined by longtime members Walsh and Schmit and new members Vince Gill and Deacon Frey, son of Glenn Frey, who died in 2016.

The Eagles are a once-in-a-lifetime act that still knocks out crowds, Mr. Kelly said. “That’s remarkable. That’s incredible staying power.”

Mr. Kelly is appreciative of what he gets to do for a living and who he gets to do it with: “I get to play with these guys doing music I love—and they’re just great guys. They are phenomenally good human beings.”

Eaglemania, an Eagles tribute band, will perform at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor on Friday, October 19, and Saturday, October 20, at 8 p.m. Admission is $37 in advance or $47 on the day of the event. Call 631-725-9500 or visit baystreet.org.