Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones onstage at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on August 18th, 2019.
Chris Tuite/imageSPACE/MediaPunch/IPX/APThe Rolling Stones will proceed with their planned tour of the U.S. this fall, the band’s promoter has announced amid worldwide mourning for drummer Charlie Watts, who died at age 80 earlier this week.
“The Rolling Stones’ tour dates are moving ahead as planned,” promoter Concerts West says in a statement, responding to the many inquiries it’s received about the status of the tour.
The 12-date No Filter Tour, which was originally planned for 2020 before the pandemic forced its postponement, kicks off on September 26th in St. Louis, Missouri, and runs through November 20th in Austin, Texas. Tickets are available at VividSeats.com.
On August 4th, the band announced that Watts, their beloved drummer of 58 years, would be unable to join them on the road. Longtime Stones associate Steve Jordan is taking his place behind the drum kit. “It is an absolute honor and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy,” Jordan said at the time.
Watts joined the Stones in 1963 and was one of only three members to appear on each of their albums, along with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. His last public performance with the band took place in August 2019 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Since Watts’ death on August 24th, tributes to his gentlemanly sense of style and the steady musical foundation he gave the Stones have come from Paul McCartney, Max Weinberg, Questlove, and many, many other artists and fans.
September 26 – St. Louis, MO @ The Dome at America’s Center
September 30 – Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium
October 4 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Heinz Field
October 9 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
October 17 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium
October 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium
October 29 – Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
November 2 – Dallas, TX @ Cotton Bowl Stadium
November 6 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
November 11 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium
November 15 – Detroit, MI @ Ford Field
November 20 – Austin, TX @ Circuit of The Americas
At the BTS concert in Tokyo on Friday (April 17), j-hope opened up to ARMY with heartbreaking news. His grandmother, who played a major role in raising him and had always been proud of his journey with the group, has passed away.
Speaking to the packed crowd at the Tokyo Dome, the K-pop star chose to be open with fans about what he was going through. “Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” he said, translated from Korean into English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother, the one who raised me from when I was little, had passed away.”
“I felt completely stunned and did not really know how to process it at first, but being around the members, sitting down together for meals, and focusing on rehearsals helped me more than I thought it would,” j-hope went on. “My grandmother was always incredibly proud, not just of me but of all the members. She truly believed in what we do. So I feel like if she was watching from above today, she would have loved every second of it.”
He closed by thanking the audience for making his first performance after the loss feel meaningful and full of support.
BTS are currently touring in support of their new album ARIRANG, which has just earned a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Following three opening shows in Goyang, South Korea, the group is set to perform twice at the Tokyo Dome before heading abroad for the North American leg. Before the tour wraps in March next year, they will also visit Latin America, Europe, Australia, and several other regions across Asia.
On the same day as the first Tokyo concert, j-hope’s solo interview with Rolling Stone was released. During the conversation, he spoke about stepping into a leadership presence within the group. “I think that’s my role on the team,” he shared. “It just comes naturally. It feels strange to even call it a role, but I just try to handle things as they come and support the other members in any way I can.”
Additional reporting from Billboard Korea.
