Music Review | The Rolling Stones Refuse to Stop

My father first saw the Rolling Stones in January 1973 at the Forum in Los Angeles. “If you were caught with any amount of weed, you were arrested,” he joked. He had long hair and a moustache and remembers the night “like it was yesterday. They were SO Well. I mean, really, they were amazing.

Almost 50 years later, I was going to see them play for the first time.

On July 10, which was also my birthday, my family, friends and I attended the first of two Rolling Stones concerts at Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, one of the final stops on their Hackney Diamonds tour.

Coming from Santa Barbara, we made predictions about the show. The main question was whether the band would be able to maintain its energy all night. Founding members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are both 80, and Ronnie Wood, who joined in 1975, is 77. They must be running out of energy, we all thought.

We arrived at the stadium after hours of unbearable traffic. Almost everyone was wearing Stones merchandise. The Forum is across from Sofi, which really made this moment come full circle. Newcomers and veterans alike wore t-shirts from previous tours: 2016, 2006, 1999, 1975, and everywhere in between.

From our seats, we watched part of the opening set, The War and Treaty, a country husband-and-wife duo. Then, at a quarter to nine, the lights dimmed. And the crowd cheered as the opening notes of “Start Me Up” echoed throughout the stadium. Jagger materialized onstage as if he had entered through a portal. Wearing a glittering black and gold jacket, he strode between Wood and Richards, both of whom were combing their guitars with ease. It was one of those moments when I wondered if I was dreaming. I glanced at my boyfriend, who also seemed unable to connect the moment to reality.

I already knew that no birthday could surpass this one.

After an opening song that set the tone for the evening, they continued with “You Got Me Rocking”, then “It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll”, before singing “Angry”, a new song from their 24th studio album, Hackney DiamondsJagger changed several times throughout the show: a purple coat, a silver sequined jacket and a pearly button-down shirt.

Of course, they rallied the crowd with classics like “Beast of Burden” and “Paint It Black,” among others. Jagger glided effortlessly across the stage, dancing and showing no signs of slowing down. After “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” Jagger addressed the crowd, reminiscing about the band’s first show in San Bernardino: “This was so long ago that some of you probably think we’d have come out of the tar pits of La Brea,” he joked. “But we didn’t.”

Jagger left the stage and Richards performed his usual 3 or 4 solo numbers: “Tell Me Straight”, “Little T&A” and “Before They Make Me Run”. The camera often zoomed in on his fingers strumming the guitar, we were literally watching a master at work.

My cousin Maxton Hunter, who is in the Santa Barbara band The Caverns, attended the second concert. He’s a longtime Rolling Stones fan, so it was fitting that I ask him what he thought of the show. “Keith has a really special raspy, bluesy voice,” Hunter said. “It’s really special to hear him have his moment.”

The lineup was different between the two nights at Sofi Stadium. Each night, a song was voted on by the fans; ours was “Beast of Burden” and theirs was “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker).” Drummer Steven Jordan, who replaced Charlie Watts after his passing in 2021, put on quite the show, with Hunter, a drummer himself, saying, “He played in a way that reflected Charlie’s old drumming.” Ronnie Wood also impressed Hunter with his solos: “It was amazing to see Ronnie Wood take so many solos. Given his age and being able to solo like that, it was very impressive.”

The band performed “Midnight Rambler,” which they did not play on the second night. This performance featured Jagger on harmonica and impressive guitar riffs from Richards and Wood that lasted nearly ten minutes. Their synchronicity was seductive; each member intertwined their talents to create a sound so distinct that it could only be theirs—never anyone else’s, and could never be duplicated.

It’s this magnetic collaboration that keeps the fan base so strong. It wasn’t until I glanced back at the endless rows of seats that I realized the sheer number of people, all of different ages: parents who brought their children, grandparents and their grandchildren, and entire families who came to see the Stones.

Then came my favorite of the band’s songs, “Gimme Shelter,” a song I’d only heard on my car speakers. Backing singer Chanel Haynes’ voice shone here. Her rising inflection as she sang gave me, and I’m sure everyone else, chills. Haynes and Jagger put on a show, walking arm in arm down the catwalk, singing the lyrics, “It’s just a kiss away.”

They ended the show with “JJ Flash,” then came back for two encore songs: “Sweet Sounds of Heaven,” another track from Hackney Diamonds, and ended the evening with “Satisfaction”.

In total, during those two hours, they sang 21 songs. No offense to their grandparents, but they set the bar high. These guys may be old, but they weren’t going to let us know. They’ve been in the business for 60 years, but I’m sure they’d do 60 more if they could.

As we walked out of the stadium, my dad put his arm around my shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

“How did it compare to the first time you saw them?” I asked him. “Just as good,” he answered without hesitation. “Maybe even better.”