Canceled Tour Comes As The Iconic Band Is Reportedly Finishing A New Album
It’s been 61 years since the Rolling Stones’ eponymous debut album was released in 1964, but the iconic British band is still playing strong.
All this time later, the band is reportedly in the studio working on a new album.
Even Mick Jagger, 82, has still got his moves.
However, plans for a 2026 stadium tour through Europe have been canceled, as of Dec. 16. This news comes almost a year after the band announced that a 2025 tour would also not take place.
Citing an anonymous source, the British tabloid The Sun was told, “The band were looking to tour earlier this year but couldn’t make it work either. It’s hard for their fans but The Stones will get back onstage when they’re good and ready.”
According to Variety, the cancelation of the 2026 tour comes as the band’s guitarist, Keith Richards, who will turn 82 on Dec. 18, is unable to “commit” to “the rigors of another tour.”
Variety went on to note that Richards has been struggling with arthritis, which has compelled him to adjust how he plays guitar.
This is consistent with his comments to the BBC in 2023, where he was asked about his arthritis.
Responding, Richards said, “Funnily enough, I’ve no doubt it has, but I don’t have any pain, it’s a sort of benign version. I think if I’ve slowed down a little bit, it’s probably due more to age.”
Continuing, he said, “And also, I found that interesting, when I’m like, ‘I can’t quite do that any more,’ the guitar will show me there’s another way of doing it. Some finger will go one space different and a whole new door opens. And so you’re always learning. You never finish school, man.”
Watch Keith Richards play on a five-string acoustic guitar on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2023, here:
In 2024, the Rolling Stones did a summer tour that was sponsored by none other than AARP.
Learn more about that tour, and hear from the bandmates about their process recording the 2024 album Hackney Diamonds, which was their first original album to produce in over 15 years, in this CBS Sunday Morning special:
See the band in action at a 2024 show, here: