The Rolling Stones’ new tour is being backed by one of the US’ most famous pensioners’ groups.
Sir Mick Jagger, 80, Keith Richards, who turns 80 on 18 December and Ronnie Wood, 76, will be hitting the road in 2024 to promote their new album ‘Hackney Diamonds’ and it’s now been revealed it is being sponsored by the AARP – once known as the American Association of Retired Persons.
The band’s two-month stadium trek kicks off on 28 April in Houston and the AARP posted on X on Wednesday: “AARP members get early access to Stones Tour ’24 Hackney Diamonds tickets. Presale begins at 10am local time on Wednesday, November 29 through 10pm local time on Thursday, November 30. Limited supply.”
The Stones’ tour includes a stop at the New Orleans Jazz Festival on 2 May 2 and a MetLife Stadium gig in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on 23 May, before it wrapsg up in Santa Clara, California, on 17 July.
Mick and Co released their first LP of original material since 2005’s ‘A Bigger Bang’ – and its first since the 2021 death of the group’s drummer Charlie Watts aged 80 in October.
Mick has joked about the 18-year wait for another Stones album: “We’ve been very lazy.”
But he added, “We didn’t want to make just any record and put it out… before we went in (to make ‘Hackney Diamonds’), we all said, ‘We’ve got to make a record that we really love ourselves.’
“Other people may like it, other people may not. But we must say that we are quite pleased with it.”
‘Hackney Diamonds’ was launched with a star-studded album release party at the Racket Club, New York City, where the Stones played a seven-song set including classics such as ‘Shattered’ and ‘Tumbling Dice’ as well as new songs ‘Angry’, ‘Whole Wide World’ and ‘Bite My Head Off’.
The Stones last played North America on their ‘No Filter’ tour in 2021.