The Rolling Stones announced plans for their upcoming World Tour 2002/2003 on Tuesday, May 7, at a press conference that was held after the group landed in a blimp in New York City’s Van Cortland Park. The band, comprised of Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Ron Wood, literally descended upon fans and members of the press, who witnessed the spectacle in awe.
Their tour is slated to begin on September 5 of this year at Boston’s CMGI Field. The Stones will be playing shows in both stadiums and arenas, as well as gigs in small clubs. In the past, more intimate club gigs were always slated as surprise gigs, and were announced at the last moment.
The Rolling Stones still hold the record for the three most attended tours of all time, “Bridges To Babylon,” “Steel Wheels,” and “Voodoo Lounge.”
Coinciding with the tour, the Stones, they will be releasing a CD set, containing some of their greatest hits, as well as previously unreleased material from the band. The Stones will be recording new material for the album in Paris, and thereafter, the band will be on their way to Toronto for rehearsals for the tour.
So far, the Stones have not publicly revealed the name of the tour, which will relate to the title of the upcoming album package that will be released by Virgin Records.
The Stones will be finalizing their concert tour in the States in February of 2003, and from the U.S., the band will continue touring in Europe, Japan, Australia, and in other countries.
The opening acts have not been announced yet, although some dates will include No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, and Jonnie Lang.
The Rolling Stones originally formed forty years ago, in 1962. A year later, drummer Charlie Watts joined the group. Guitarist Mick Taylor replaced Bryan Jones, who died in 1969, after drowning in his swimming pool under the influence of drugs and alcohol. After Taylor departed from the band, guitarist Ron Wood took his place in 1975 as Keith Richards’ perfect foil. Bassist Bill Wyman announced his own departure from the group in 1993, and Darryl Jones has since filled in for him. As with the past several tours, the Stones will be joined the extraordinary back-up singer, Bernard Fowler.
ROLLING STONES WORLD TOUR 2002/2003
2002
Sept. 5 Boston CMGI Field
Sept. 08 Boston The Orpheum Theatre
Sept. 10 Chicago United Center
Sept. 13 Chicago Comiskey Park
Sept. 16 Chicago Aragon Ballroom
Sept. 18 Philadelphia Veterans Stadium
Sept. 22 Philadelphia Tower Theater
Sept. 26 New York Madison Square Garden
Sept. 28 New York Giants Stadium
Sept. 30 New York Roseland Ballroom
Oct. 04 Washington, DC FedExField
Oct. 12 Detroit Ford Field
Oct. 14 Cleveland Gund Arena
Oct. 16 Toronto Air Canada Centre
Oct. 18 Toronto SkyDome
Oct. 20 Columbus Nationwide Arena
Oct. 22 Ft. Lauderdale National Car Rental Center
Oct. 23 Miami American Airlines Arena
Oct. 26 Atlanta Turner Field
Oct. 31 Los Angeles STAPLES Center
Nov. 02 Los Angeles Edison Field
Nov. 04 Los Angeles Wiltern Theater
Nov. 08 San Francisco Pac Bell Park
Nov. 14 San Diego Sports Arena
Nov. 23 San Antonio SBC Center
Nov. 25 Nashville Gaylord Entertainment Center
Nov. 29 Las Vegas Venue To Be Confirmed
2003
Jan. 08 Montreal Molson Centre
Jan. 10 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
Jan. 25 Houston Reliant Stadium
Jan. 30 Phoenix America West Arena
Feb. 01 Denver Pepsi Center
Additional cities and venues to be announced.
Phyllis Pollack writes about rock and hip hop for CounterPunch. She lives in LA.
