The Rolling Stones are not gathering moss.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards (both 80 years old) and Ronnie Wood (a spry 77) are currently traveling North America on their Hackney Diamonds tour, which began in April and is scheduled to last until July.
Not only are they promoting the Hackney Diamonds album, playing several songs from the recently released LP, but they’re also pulling out tracks they haven’t played live in years.
Below, we’ve compiled a roundup of all the songs the Stones have debuted on tour — some brand new, others from decades gone by – organized by date and the city they were played in, complete with videos.
1. Houston, Texas (April 28): “Out of Time,” “Mess It Up” and “Little T&A”
Technically speaking, every song on the Stones’ opening show in Houston, Texas was a “tour debut.” But let us clarify: these are the songs that have either never been played live before — in this case “Mess It Up” from Hackney Diamonds — or had not been played for some time. “This next song is pretty old and ancient, but we’ve never done it in Houston before, in fact I don’t think we’ve ever done it in the U.S.A. before,” Jagger said before launching into “Out of Time.” (It was last played in 2022, but Jagger was right, it had never been played before in North America.) There was also “Little “T&A” with Richards on lead vocals, which had not been played since 2016.
2. New Orleans (May 2): “Let It Bleed,” “Time Is on My Side” and “Whole Wide World”
The Stones really pulled out the stops at this year’s New Orleans Jazz Festival. First, they brought up guest accordionist Dwayne Dopsie for the debut of “Let It Bleed.” This was followed by singer Irma Thomas joining Jagger for “Time Is on My Side,” which they’d not played since 1988. “We heard this song on the radio, and we recorded it, and it became our first kind of hit in America,” Jagger said from the stage. “And the lady that did the song first [Irma Thomas], she’s the soul queen of New Orleans!” And then there was the debut of Hackney Diamonds‘ “Whole Wide World.”
3. Glendale, Arizona (May 7): “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It),” “She’s So Cold” and “Monkey Man”
Three more tour debuts followed in Glendale, Arizona, starting with “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It),” which was immediately followed by “She’s So Cold.” A few songs later came “Monkey Man,” the fan-voted song of the evening. “Try and remember this one, haven’t done this in a long time,” Jagger said before the Let It Bleed track began. (As in previous years, the Stones offer fans a handful of songs to vote on pre-show, with the winner landing in the set list.)
4. Las Vegas (May 11): “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “You Got Me Rocking” and “You Got the Silver”
If you thought three tour debuts in one show was a lot, try four, which is what happened when the Stones played Las Vegas. The first was a major throwback to 1967: “Let’s Spend the Night Together.” Next was Bob Dylan‘s “Like a Rolling Stone,” which the band has been covering off and on since 1995. “We didn’t write this song. This was specially written for us by a Nobel Prize laureate,” Jagger joked. Immediately after that was “You Got Me Rocking,” as voted by the fans, and last but not least was “You Got the Silver” with Richards handling lead vocals.
5. Seattle (May 15): “Wild Horses”
The Stones played just one tour debut in Seattle, but it was an awfully iconic one. The Sticky Fingers ballad “Wild Horses” wound up the fan-voted song of the evening. “There’s an even more important vote in November,” Jagger reminded the crowd, referencing the upcoming U.S. presidential election, “so don’t forget to get involved in that, too.”
6. East Rutherford, New Jersey (May 23): “Shattered”
It just makes plain sense that the Stones would bust out “Shattered” from 1978’s Some Girls at their tour stop in East Rutherford, New Jersey, a stone’s throw from New York City. “Hi, New Jersey! Hi, New York! Manhattan, this one’s for you!” Jagger declared before launching into lyrics like “Go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don’t mind the maggots.”
7. East Rutherford, New Jersey (May 26): “Bitch,” “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” “Tell Me Straight,” and “Midnight Rambler”
One show simply wasn’t enough in New Jersey, especially considering how many people likely traveled over from the biggest city in America. The Stones brought out a whopping four more tour debuts on May 26 at the same venue, starting with “Bitch” from Sticky Fingers. Then came the fan choice, “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker),” notable because it’s only been played live 13 times in the last two decades. Next was the first ever performance of “Tell Me Straight” from Hackney Diamonds, sung by Richards. And finally: “Midnight Rambler,” with a little snippet of Robert Johnson’s “Come On in My Kitchen” thrown in.
8. Foxborough, Massachusetts (May 30): “Emotional Rescue”
In Foxborough, Massachusetts, the fan choice once again provided a new tour debut, this time in the form of “Emotional Rescue,” a song the Stones had last played live an entire decade ago. And once again, Jagger reminded the crowd that there is more voting coming down the line: “More importantly…there’s a presidential election in November; don’t forget to vote in that. Don’t take anything for granted!”
9. Orlando, Florida (June 3): “She’s a Rainbow” and “Dead Flowers”
“A few of [the voted song options] are banned in Florida,” Jagger quipped at the Stones’ Orlando show at which the winner was 1967’s “She’s a Rainbow.” “Oh dear…I don’t know if I remember it. “I’ll give it a go!” And then there was “Dead Flowers,” which featured a guest, country musician Tyler Childers.
10. Atlanta (June 7): “Sweet Virginia” and “Happy”
The Stones played “Sweet Virginia” a total of 10 times in 2019, and then it only made one appearance in 2022. They brought the song back around again at their Atlanta show this year, with Jagger joking that “Wild Horses” would have been the song vote winner had it received another 11,000 votes. (This was a reference to former President Donald Trump, who, in January of 2021, was recorded on the phone pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him “find 11,780 votes” in order to overturn the election results in that state.) There was also another Richards-sung song, “Happy.”
Rolling Stones Albums Ranked
Ready to journey through the past (darkly)? Check out Rolling Stones Albums Ranked Worst to Best.
Gallery Credit: Bryan Wawzenek