Pop Break Live: The Guess Who with Don Felder on the ‘Takin’ it Back Tour’ at The Etess Arena at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday July 11, 2026
When the news broke that legendary band The Guess Who announced a massive tour, fans around the world undoubtedly rejoiced. It had been 23 years since founding members Burt Cummings and Randy Bachman played together using the name The Guess Who due to a decades-long old trademark lawsuit on the use of the bands name. The suit was recently settled and that decision paved the way for one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most highly anticipated tours in years.
The band brought along a special guest on tour with them when they hit the Etess Arena at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New jersey — Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Don Felder of The Eagles.
Felder went right down memory lane and opened with “Take it Easy,” the lead track off the band’s 1972 self-titled debut. He delivered flawless renditions of Eagles’ classics including “One of These Nights,” “Victim of Love,” and “Heartache Tonight,” which the crowd clapped along to. Felder’s energetic touring band was stellar throughout the entire set and really shone on “Heavy Metal” (Taking a Ride). He did a goose-bump-worthy a cappella rendition with some of his band members on “Seven Bridges Road.” The crowd loved it. Felder, at 78, had an incredibly youthful stage presence and looked incredibly fit in his black leather jacket, white jeans, sneakers and a black band t-shirt. His voice is seemingly as powerful as it was in the ’70s.
The band played “Life in the Fast Lane,” which has one of the most recognizable iconic guitar riffs in classic music history. The show ended in epic fashion with Felder and his double-neck Gibson EDS-1275 guitar on the iconic Grammy-winning song “Hotel California.” He was joined by his guitarists front and center for his two-minute guitar solo. The crowd started standing up before the solo was even over as they realized how iconic this moment was to see this song played live. He had the audience sing the line “You can check out any time but you can never leave” verse. There is no doubt that Don Felder’s high-energy set got the crowd hyped and warmed up for The Guess Who. The fans gave them a big standing ovation.
When Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman walked out on stage they were met with an immediate standing ovation. There is no doubt that for alot of fans like myself, this was a tribute to the band and the emotional connection fans still have to their timeless music and that particular era of music. Cummings and Bachman were backed by a five-piece band. Cummings was wearing a Beatles T-shirt and a black Jacket that had a patch of The Police and another of The Who.
Before beginning their set they opened up with a pre-recorded backing track intro to “Hang On to Your Life” as a montage of the band’s history was displayed on two giant screens. They then opened up with “Runnin’ Back to Saskatoon.” They played many of their hits and fan favorites, including “These Eyes,” “Laughing,” “Hand Me Down World,” and “Clap for the Wolfman,” which had the audience joining in on the clapping parts of the song.
The prowess of the entire band was incredible. They were like a finely tuned machine. Their chemistry together was fun to watch and their showmanship during the entire show was a masterclass. Bachman on the guitar was amazing and Cummings was perfect on the keys and was front and center with his tambourine on some of the songs. Before playing the song ‘Undun,”‘ he grabbed his flute and said “I ain’t no Ian Anderson but I’ll give it a try”.Cummings had the audience sing the last verse of the song and he got a standing ovation for his flute solo.
One of the many highlights of the show were the Bachman-Turner Overdrive songs, which included “Let It Ride” and “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”. Cummings mentioned to the crowd that the band 100% does not use any type of auto tune or pre recorded music or backing tracks. He started chanting, “no bull shit machines, no bull shit machines.” It was funny.
Towards the end of the set were the heavy hitters like the medley of “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature” and “No Time,” which got a standing ovation. They also played their biggest hit “American Woman,” which had an intro featuring the Doors “Roadhouse Blues” and Cummings channeled Jim Morrison. They encored with the highly uplifting, optimistic song “Share the Land.” It’s a song that conveys a message of global togetherness so I was not surprised they added that to the set. The night ended with an epic rousing rendition of The BTO‘s iconic song “Takin’ Care of Business.” The crowd was out of their seats and sang along. This show was everything I was hoping it would be. This audience really showed the band the love throughout the entire show!
