With unexpected twists making their way into The Rolling Stones' circle throughout 2019, it's safe to say this year has been one to remember for the classic rock royals.
However, the sad news was met with just as much promise as The Stones road a high throughout the eventual No Filter U.S. Tour as well as the release of new media and content.
Amongst all of the madness, 2019 was a year of triumph and tribulation that is ending with a bit of ambiguity as to what this next year holds for the band. Regardless, let's take a look back at The Rolling Stones' wild year.
Mick Jagger Scare
It was quite the rocky start to The Rolling Stones’ 2019. With anticipation growing around their upcoming No Filter U.S. Tour, no one wanted to believe the announcement that came at the end of March.
Just three days after The Stones tweeted a photo of a No Filter Tour rehearsal setup, the same Twitter account dropped the news that Mick Jagger was unwell, resulting in a postponement of the scheduled tour. No further details were released.
Considering tickets for the U.S. Tour had gone on sale at the end of November 2018, you can imagine the disappointment of fans across the country. However, there was an insane amount of support as fans tweeted their love and support for the beloved frontman.
On April 5, Mick Jagger released his first statement following a successful heart procedure, thanking fans for the support and promising a magnificent return once he was well. Fortunately, that wouldn’t take too long.
Just over a month later, Mick tweeted a video of himself in a rehearsal space, performing his unmistakable Mick Jagger dance moves as he watched his reflection in the mirror. The great was back.
To no one's surprise, it was just a mere twenty-four hours following Mick’s rehearsal update when The Stones announced all seventeen of the postponed 2019 No Filter Tour dates, including an entirely new show in New Orleans. They were ready once again.
HONK If You Love The Stones
At the end of April, The Stones released a compilation album featuring a number of remastered favorites off of their 2016 release Blues & Lonesome along with classics off of every record since the hit 1971 album Sticky Fingers.
A significantly promoted piece of content, the HONK album cover quickly branded The Stones for a few months prior and following the release. Within this promotion was the popular HONK bus which toured around major cities sporting the HONK cover art along with the phrase “HONK If You Love The Stones.” The bus could also be spotted at the subsequent No Filter U.S. Tour dates throughout the Summer.
We can assure you that by the end of the bus’s run, it was sick of hearing car honks. I mean, who doesn’t love The Stones?
Windy City Kickoff
After a bit of an unexpected start to the year, The Rolling Stones finally kicked off their postponed 2019 No Filter U.S. Tour at Soldier Field on June 21 in Chicago. Performing a twenty-song setlist, The Stones proved that they really were ready to start rocking again.
It had been almost a full year since they had performed together on their European run of the tour. Luckily, there were no signs of rust as the guys played a continuous two-hour show. With a setlist full of both classics and deep cuts, the band set an accurate trend for what was to come on the rest of the tour.
With an ever-changing setlist from night-to-night, The Stones were sure to at least construct a blended set in every city, hitting on a variety of songs across their entire catalogue. Within that list, The Stones promised to include a track that the audience picked in every city. During night one in Chicago, the fan choice was “You Got Me Rocking.”
NASA and Iron Man Unite
Twenty-five years since their last show at the iconic stadium, The Rolling Stones returned to the Rose Bowl for one of the last shows on the No Filter U.S. Tour at the end of August.
As if the show didn’t already have a lot of hype surrounding the grand return of the superstars, Robert Downey Jr. made a cryptic tweet the morning of the show, tagging both NASA and The Rolling Stones.
Anticipation lingered as countless fans suggested that maybe Robert Downey Jr. would be in attendance at The Stones’ Rose Bowl concert. But where did NASA fit in? Well, that was still a mystery.
Turns out, as thousands of fans crowded into the massive venue for the evening concert, Robert Downey Jr. stood backstage preparing for a unique announcement that nobody saw coming.
In honor of the Mariner 4 launch and coinciding release of The Rolling Stones’ self-titled album in 1964, NASA decided to name a rolling rock that they discovered on the surface of Mars the “Rolling Stones Rock.” And yes, Iron Man himself was the man to deliver the news to the Rose Bowl audience just minutes before the start of the show. Let’s just say it was quite the introduction.
We were lucky enough to be in attendance during this monumental moment of The Rolling Stones’ year. Check out our review of the Rose Bowl concert for more details on the entire show, including Iron Man’s reveal.
Gimme Shelter from Hurricane Dorian
What started as a relatively smooth leg of a tour, turned into a bit of a nightmare in Miami during the 2019 No Filter Tour wrap at Hard Rock Stadium. The Stones were forced to move the final date of the U.S. run due to the predicted wind and rain threat of the looming Hurricane Dorian.
Originally scheduled for August 31, the show was moved up a single day to avoid any possible weather-related problems. Fortunately, while the switch may have affected traveling fans’ ability to utilize their tickets, the show remained sold-out with a crowd of nearly fifty-thousand in attendance.
Not able to avoid all of nature’s fury, Mick, Ronnie, Keith and Charlie battled through the elements during the two-song encore featuring “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and the seemingly perfect tune for the occasion, “Gimme Shelter.”
Exclusive Collections
After nearly six decades of timeless music, it’s hard to believe The Stones and their marketing team can continue to conjure up new ideas for band merchandise. However, 2019 has been quite the year for The Rolling Stones gear.
From The Cactus Plant Flea Market and Exclusive Time Capsule Collections to the stadium-specific No Filter Tour and most recent Paint It Black Collections, the rock legends were able to promise more than just music throughout the No Filter Tour and beyond.
See The Rolling Stones’ official shopping website for details on how to snag your own items from the exclusive collections.
All About Ronnie
In October, Ronnie Wood was honored at the London Film Festival following the premiere of Somebody Up There Likes Me, a documentary honoring Wood’s life as a member of The Rolling Stones and as a studio artist. The documentary is set to be released in 2020.
The following month, Wood released the first of a planned trilogy of albums honoring his musical heroes. The recent release entitled Ronnie Wood with His Wild Five - Mad Lad: A Live Tribute to Chuck Berry, features eleven tracks and guest appearances by Imelda May (vocals) and Ben Waters (piano).
In celebration of the release, Wood put on four solo concerts at the end of November across the UK. Performing a setlist consisting of almost entirely Chuck Berry covers, Ronnie Wood and company pleased fans in Kingston upon Thames, London, Birmingham and Manchester with relatively intimate venues for the British Invasion pioneer.
Check out the setlist from Manchester here!
Not-So-New Music
In November, The Stones celebrated the release of a previously unreleased live album and concert film entitled Bridges to Buenos Aires. The record and subsequent concert footage chronicle The Stones’ 1998 show at River Plate Stadium in Argentina which marked the end of a five-night residency at the venue.
The iconic Argentinian run was booked in succession to the release of their 1997 album Bridges to Babylon, and thus the set included a significant number of songs off of the record along with a blend of classics to please the audience of nearly sixty-thousand.
If taking part in The Rolling Stones history wasn’t enough for the Argentinian crowd, maybe Bob Dylan was the solution. Joining The Stones on stage for a performance of Dylan’s own “Like a Rolling Stone,” the folk rock legend added an entirely new element to the heavier Stones' vibe— and how perfect it truly was.
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The later release of Bridges to Buenos Aires came after the success of a similar remix of the 1997 album and concert film Bridges to Bremen. The 2019 remastered record and footage are taken from The Stones’ show at Weserstadion in Germany on September 2, 1997 during the final leg of their Bridges to Babylon Tour. The live 1997 remaster was released on June 21, 2019 to coincide with the kickoff of the No Filter U.S. Tour!
Looking Towards 2020
Although there haven't been any official announcements regarding The Rolling Stones' plans for the upcoming year, rumors have been circulating about a potential Asia and/or Oceania Tour in 2020.
Knowing the energy put out on the recent No Filter U.S. Tour, it's hard to imagine The Stones packing it in for a while. Either way, one thing is for certain— the band will be sure to throw at least a surprise or two our way during the new year. They're simply too present to remain dormant for that long.
