Concert Preview: The Rolling Stones at Circuit of the Americas

The Rolling Stones truly need no introduction. Formed in 1962, the English rock band has been selling out stadiums around the globe for more than 50 years, with their trademark tongue and lips becoming one of the most recognizable logos in music history.

The band was initially made up of vocalist Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, drummer Charlie Watts, bassist Bill Wyman, and Brian Jones, who played a variety of instruments. After Jones’ death in 1969, his role was taken up by Mick Taylor until 1975, when Ronnie Wood joined the band. Wyman left the group in 1993.

Courtesy of The Rolling Stones

In 1966, the Stones released their first all-original album, Aftermath, the first in an extensive discography with more than 30 studio albums, 33 live albums, and 29 compilations to date, including Beggars Banquet, Sticky Fingers, Tattoo You, and Steel Wheels.

In 2016, the band played a free concert in Havana, Cuba, for nearly 500,000 people. Documented in both the concert film Havana Moon, and the documentary Ole Ole Ole: A Trip Across Latin America, the concert heralded a change in Cuba, a nation where rock music was once banned.

Photo courtesy of The Rolling Stones

Regarded as one of the best bands of all time by both Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines, which rank them second and fourth, respectively, the band has three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award to their name. In 1989, the ban was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, followed by the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.

In August of 2021, the band’s longtime drummer Charlie Watts passed away at 80 years of age. Credited by many to be the foundation of much of the band’s music, Watts leaves behind a legacy as one of the greatest drummers of all time.

Photo courtesy of The Rolling Stones

This year’s No Filter Tour kicked off back in 2017, in Germany, and was due to conclude in 2020, but was rescheduled due to the pandemic. The band last played in Houston in 2019 at NRG Stadium to a crowd of more than 45,000. This fall, the Stones will cap off the tour with a show at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX on November 20th.