The Rolling Stones to Continue US Tour as Planned Despite Charlie Watts’ Death
The Rolling Stones will move forward with their ‘No Filter’ U.S. tour later this year as planned, despite the death of drummer Charlie Watts earlier this week.
“The Rolling Stones’ tour dates are moving ahead as planned,” said promoter Concerts West in a statement (via Consequence of Sound).
The run was originally set for 2020, but the dates were postponed due to the pandemic. Shortly after the new dates were unveiled, the Stones announced that doctors had advised the 80-year-old Watts to sit out the upcoming gigs after having a “procedure” performed recently. The drummer was told he needed “proper rest and recuperation.”
In lieu of this, Watts named 64-year-old Steve Jordan (The Blues Brothers, B.B. King, Bruce Spingsteen, Cat Stevens, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Beyoncé, LeAnn Rimes, Kelly Clarkson, Bruno Mars and more) as his fill-in.
“For once my timing has been a little off. I am working hard to get fully fit but I have today accepted on the advice of the experts that this will take a while. After all the fans’ suffering caused by COVID, I really do not want the many RS fans who have been holding tickets for this tour to be disappointed by another postponement or cancellation. I have therefore asked my great friend Steve Jordan to stand in for me,” said Watts in a statement released on Aug. 5.
Jordan, at the time, added, “It is an absolute honor and a privilege to be Charlie’s understudy and I am looking forward to rehearsing with Mick, Keith and Ronnie. No-one will be happier than me to give up my seat on the drum riser as soon as Charlie tells me he is good to go.”
Sadly, Watts died on Aug. 24 and was remembered warmly in countless tributes from his peers who counted him as a major inspiration and influence, reflected on his gentlemanly nature and made note of his impeccable skills behind the kit.
Singer Mick Jagger and guitarists Ronnie Wood, who beat cancer for a second time last year, and Keith Richards all honored their late bandmate, who joined the group in 1963 and had been there ever since, in their own tributes.
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Rolling Stones ‘No Filter’ 2021 U.S. Tour Dates
Show date and time: September 26, 2021 – November 20, 2021
Show location: The Dome at America’s Center, St. Louis, MO Austin – Circuit of The Americas, TX
