Nokia Theater books first shows

The Nokia Theater in downtown L.A. will open with two shows in October as the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks, the epitome of the Southern California country-rock sound past and present, team up to play their only U.S. dates of 2007.

The Nokia is part of the $2.5-billion, 4-million-square-foot L.A. Live complex that will be adjacent to Staples Center. Tickets for the Oct. 18 and 20 shows at the 7,100-seat venue go on sale Monday through Ticketmaster.

The Eagles are planning an October release for “Long Road Out of Eden,” their first studio album since “The Long Run” in 1979. Don Henley told The Times in February that the CD would be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart for the first year, a deal that Henley said was spurred by the environmental initiatives by the world’s largest private employer.

-- Geoff Boucher