The Rolling Stones on Tour
If anyone were ever after a definition of rock 'n' roll, one Rolling Stones song would be worth a thousand words. When it comes to large-scale rock tours, there's nobody more experienced than the Stones at making a capacious arena concert feel like a down 'n' dirty roadhouse gig. That the Stones' excursions have been some of the most successful tours in history — from the mid-'90s Voodoo Lounge Tour to the early-'00s Licks Tour and beyond — is emblematic of how much their music speaks to their millions of fans across the globe. And even after all these decades, when Mick Jagger struts, sways, shouts and croons, and Keith Richards reaches deep into wherever his mojo comes from and rings out those raw, immortal riffs of his, there's an indefinable magic in the air — the kind that rock 'n' roll legends are made of.
The Rolling Stones in Concert
The Rolling Stones started out as part of the so-called British Invasion that overwhelmed American ears in the mid '60s, but alone among their contemporaries they've managed to move with the times and remain vital. The Stones have gone through many eras of musical evolution along the way, of course. In their early years they were obsessed with American blues and R&B, and they channeled those influences into their own brand of raw-boned rock 'n' roll. Before the '60s were over they'd experimented with everything from baroque pop to tripped-out psychedelia. But by the early '70s the Stones had returned to their roots on legendary albums like Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. They subsequently found their way into funk, disco and more. In the '90s they incorporated electronics into their production without abandoning their rootsy magic. And after the turn of the millennium, the Stones found new ways to connect with their early inspirations, as on their 2016 LP Blue & Lonesome. Astonishingly, through it all they've managed to hold tightly onto their hard-earned tag, The World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band.