WHAT a nice surprise. Fans should be certain to bring their alibis when The Ultimate Eagles Experience comes to the MECC in September.

The death of founding Eagles member Glen Lewis Frey in January 2016 inspired Whalen Hughes and two friends to found the tribute band.

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Hughes had been a fan of the band for a long time and his earliest memory goes back to a young age.

"I do remember probably being about seven or eight years old in the back of my parents' car listening to Take it Easy,” he said.

Hughes and the other five band members are full time musicians who were and still are playing with other bands.

Hughes himself started playing in bands at 15 years of age.

"The show is getting really popular,” Hughes said.

"Next year we are travelling to Alice Springs and Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

"And the shows only just started, we did the first show in October.

"We have probably done 10 shows and each show is getting bigger and better.

"We already have 15 shows booked next year.”

The band will also bring along Jeff Carter Cash, a Johnny Cash tribute show, next year.

Hughes said by touring he has learnt how much appreciation the audience has for the Eagles' music and how big the band was.

"The band has been around for 45 years and the amount of music that they created has been huge,” he said.

Hughes and the band are also talking of doing an album of their own but for the moment the Eagles tribute shows has priority.