On July 21, the Rolling Stones will perform the final show of their North American Hackney Diamonds Tour, a trek that has taken them across the continent over the course of just three months.
If you were lucky enough to score tickets — more on luck and tickets down below — you know these were high-energy, fast-paced shows that had fans on their feet all night long.
It’s unclear exactly what the Stones’ next steps will be, but in the meantime, we’re taking a look at 10 highlights from this tour.
1. New Music From ‘Hackney Diamonds’
Perhaps the most important highlight — and the reason, really, for this entire tour — is the new music from the Stones’ 2023 album, Hackney Diamonds, their first LP since 2016’s Blue & Lonesome and their first collection of new original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang. Not all the songs from the new album made the tour set list, but here are the ones that did: “Angry,” “Bite My Head Off,” “Whole Wide World,” “Mess It Up,” “Tell Me Straight” and “Sweet Sounds of Heaven.”
2. Surprise Songs and Tour Debuts
While much of the Stones’ set list stayed consistent throughout the entire tour, there were some surprises along the way and not every audience saw the exact same show. Songs like “Time Is on My Side” and “Emotional Rescue” were played for the first time in many years, while rarities like “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” and Bob Dylan‘s “Like a Rolling Stone” were thrown in from time to time. Don’t worry, we have a full list of those tour debuts.
3. Fan-Voted Songs
It’s the Rolling Stones’ world, we’re all just living in it. Except when it comes to one song at each of their concerts, where, prior to the beginning of the show, fans get to vote from four set list options. The winner gets played that night. Among the champions on this tour: “Monkey Man,” “She’s a Rainbow,” “Wild Horses,” “You Got Me Rocking” and plenty more.
4. Mick Jagger’s Plea to American Fans: Vote
Speaking of voting, Mick Jagger is well aware that there’s more of that to be done in the United States later this year, and at many of the tour’s stops, he’s been encouraging people to vote as he announces the fan-voted song of the evening. “More importantly,” he said in Foxborough, Massachusetts, “there’s a presidential election in November; don’t forget to vote in that. Don’t take anything for granted!”
5. Guest Appearances
On a couple of occasions, the Stones brought out guests to perform with them. In New Orleans, they did “Time Is on My Side” — their first live performance of the song since 1988 — with Irma Thomas, the woman who recorded the song in 1964 just a few months before the Stones did. There were also “Dead Flowers” duets with opening acts Tyler Childers and Lainey Wilson in in Orlando, Florida and Chicago, respectively.
READ MORE: 32 Songs the Rolling Stones Have Rarely Played Live
6. Opening Acts
Is there a better gig than opening for the Rolling Stones? Talk about exposure. Instead of picking one act to follow them around, the Stones selected several artists to open for them in different cities. It featured a healthy mix of veteran performers like Widespread Panic, Joe Bonamassa, Bettye LaVette and Gary Clark Jr., plus up and coming stars like Lainey Wilson, the Linda Lindas, Lawrence and more.
7. Lucky Dip Tickets
We all know that getting affordable tickets to concerts these days is something of a challenge. On this tour, the Stones have been selling a select amount of tickets via a program called Lucky Dip. Through a lottery system, batches of tickets were sold for approximately $40 a piece, but the catch is that you won’t learn where your seats are until you pick up the tickets from will-call that evening. Still, for that price, any seat is a good one. Take that, scalpers.
Allison Rapp, UCR / Kevin Mazur, Getty Images
8. Steve Jordan on the Drums
There will never be another Charlie Watts. But there is a Steve Jordan out there, and he’s been holding down the beat on this tour. When it was announced in August of 2021 that Watts would be taking time off for health reasons, it was him who reassured Keith Richards, who was hesitant to go on the road without him, that Jordan was the right man for the job. “Charlie said to me, ‘You can do it with Steve. He can take my seat anytime,'” Richards recalled to Rolling Stone in 2022. They’ve been big shoes to fill, but Jordan has stood up to the plate with talent and class.
9. Chanel Haynes in ‘Gimme Shelter’
It’s one of the most iconic vocal performances in the history of rock music: Merry Clayton’s blistering part in “Gimme Shelter.” On this tour, singer Chanel Haynes, who has performed with the Stones before, took on the responsibility of performing that vocal, both honoring Clayton’s original recording and making it her own, too. That was the advice Clayton had once given her: “‘What I want you to do is sing it like Chanel would sing it,'” Haynes recalled Clayton telling her (via Rolling Stone). “I’m giving you that authority. The church is in you. I know you’re a church girl. Trust it. Go with it, but do it your way.’”
10. Keith Richard’s on Extra Lead Vocals
Every frontman, even Jagger, needs a little break every once in a while on stage. Richards got a chance to shine a little bit extra on this tour, singing at least two, often three songs per show, including “Little T&A,” “Before They Make Me Run,” “Happy,” “You Got the Silver” and “Tell Me Straight.”
Allison Rapp is a New York City-based music and culture journalist. Her work has appeared in Brooklyn Magazine, Insider, Rock Cellar, City Limits and more. She is also the host of Big Yellow Podcast, a show about Joni Mitchell. She tweets at @allisonrapp22.
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
