How Long Is The Rolling Stones Concert?
The question that follows regarding The Rolling Stones is: how long do they perform for?
When The Rolling Stones start a concert, one of their now famous rock concerts, the fans prepare for one wild show. From the first notes of the first song to the last note of the last encore, a Stones concert is a non-stop hit fest of popular Stones songs and concert favorites, with all the attitude, style, and presentation that epitomize the Stones. Some bands have not been able to record music for over six decades, like The Rolling Stones and even so, they have churned out a plethora of hits. Thus, with such a vast pool of material to work with, how many hours will aficionados continue to see Sir Mick Jagger and company performing on stage during the concert tours?
The Rolling Stones concert length, how it has changed over time and its current average duration
Thus, the Rolling Stones concert lasts, on average, two hours and can be longer or shorter by fifteen minutes. This running time enables them to conduct approximately 20 to 25 song performances in a single show. The shows that they performed on the most recent tour, which began in 2017 and ended in 2021, also known as the No Filter Tour, were almost exactly two hours long, with the duration taking an average of 115–130 minutes. They have, of course, been known to expand a specific show for a special event or on certain platforms by going slightly over the time limit. But on average, their concerts are still more or less of the same duration as those of other touring artists and groups, who may not have the same stability in their time-distance performances.
Of course, after being in existence for as long as The Rolling Stones, there is no way that one could possibly provide a list of 25 songs that would please every fan. The problem with both of these bands is that there is just so much amazing material in their discography that it is difficult to know where to begin. To avert this, the band tries to switch between song videos from one night to the next when they are on major nationwide or worldwide tours. This way, attendees who watch numerous performances as part of one tour can hear at least some different songs from the band. However, there is also a lot of consistency that has been worked into the song selection, particularly when it comes to the real, tried-and-true hit songs that people can just tell are going to get the crowds all riled up.
Setlist Structure
As a band that has performed live for many years, The Rolling Stones have realized how to arrange tunes in a way that would maximise the joy for the crowd, as well as their musicianship. They quite obviously structure their shows into segments or sections, separating the faster rave-ups from slower emotional songs, including the traditional favorites with songs which see little concert time.
The last tours of the night began with two or three of the most over-played and obvious radio hits one after another for the place to get going. Jumpin Jack Flash, It's Only Rock n Roll, and Tumbling Dice are some of the most effective starters that ensure the audience will want to dance straight away. After that, they get into a steady rhythm with sweet, catchy tunes, followed by other bluesy, dull jam tracks that demonstrate their musicianship.
These segments currently last approximately 5–6 songs and are followed by a speed reduction to ballads, which are punctuated by hits supported by minstrels performing songs such as Angie or Wild Horses in an acoustic form. The pace is cranked down after all the heartfelt singalongs of ballads for several times, and right in the middle of the concert, maybe at the point of the second half or third third, the band increases the tempo again, and in the next few minutes, a series of more popular hits from the second or third phase of the band's glorious run commences.
Miss You, Start Me Up, Brown Sugar In this section, it is mostly one continuous hit machine as the crowd keeps in a non-stop dancing, merry-making mood. This is usually followed by Midnight Rambler or an extended Gimme Shelter if the band is in the mood for improvising during a live performance. Towards the end of the show, they bring out all the best songs, and they perform dark songs like Sympathy for the Devil. Then typically, the night finishes with one last energetic one-two (or three) punch of Satisfaction, Jumping Jack Flash (reprise), and sometimes Brown Sugar (reprise).
Going the Distance
I cannot believe that after more than 50 years in show business, the two former kings of the nightTM can still deliver such a high-voltage joyful passion on the stage nightly, turning the audience into a dancing happy mass. One has to wonder how septuagenarians such as Mick, Keith, and Ronnie can still maintain such physical endurance to perform such lengthy sets a few hundred nights a year.
It is quite evident that they understand how to space it out, have probably realized how to schedule tours in phases with breaks in between, and also ensure that the faster and slower segments during the show are also evenly dispersed. On top of that, they will have even more people on the road with them, which also makes a difference. And with four musicians on backing vocals, a second keyboard player, a third guitarist, and two extra backing vocalists behind the four permanent members of the Stones each night, that's an awful lot of backup.
Of course, the good rapport that has been built over the years and, more importantly, developing great chemistry that sees them perform in studio and on stage have a lot to do with it as well. By now, Richards, Wood, Watts, and Jagger are clearly in harmony as fellow band members; indeed, they are very close knit as a group after so many years of shows and concerts. They understand how to keep up their energy for the entire evening each night without ever compromising on their imagination.
Even today, people wonder: Will they ever quit?
Over the years, people have been wondering: When will The Rolling Stones give up and finally stop playing their instruments? Besides, their fans are not young, and/or the young listeners are not getting younger either. However, up to now, the band, despite the death of the great Charlie Watts in 2021, are asserting that there are more touring prospects in them.
Mick Jagger himself recently stated: I have no plans to stop touring. I enjoy it too much to quit." Keith Richards concurred: Mick will tell you when he's ready to stop touring, and I'll be right behind him. So bring out the Satanic Majesties Request face paint and dust off those YaYa's. “ It looks like fans will still be getting their satisfaction from the world's Greatest Rock and Roll However, fans of Rolling Stones should know that most of the songs they still perform with such great energy even when they are in their seventies and eighties: most Rolling Stones fans are still willing to let them have their fun as long as they can still perform!
