By Jackie Devereaux 

Hawthorn, Calif. - The quintessential rock and roll band, The Rolling Stones, performed two sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium this past week. Mick Jagger, the lead singer and front man for the band, is 78 years young, and he said that this 2021 tour will be the band’s last.  

On August 24, 2021, the band lost its longtime drummer, Charlie Watts, to a battle with throat cancer.  Watts was replaced by drummer Steve Jordan, a member of Keith Richards’ X-Pensive Winos side project.  

Approximately 70,000 fans, ages ranging from teens up to 100 (LOL) showed up early to tailgate, walk around, and settle into the new stadium. Tickets prices ranged from $99.50 for the cheapest nosebleed seats up to $1,700 and more for front row or VIP seats. If you wanted a beer, it cost you $17, and parking ranged from $60 - $65 up to $80 for premiere and handicapped parking.  Also, you could not use cash anywhere in the stadium. All transactions had to be with a credit or debit card. 

“The band played 19 songs, and I knew the words to 17 of them by heart. The two songs I didn’t know were new ones written by Keith Richards,” said fan Tom Devereaux of Desert Hot Springs, CA. Devereaux and his wife, Jackie, booked a hotel room only 3.2 miles from the SoFi Stadium. They got to the stadium around 4:30 p.m. to tailgate until the gates opened at 5:30 p.m.  

Every fan had to show I.D. and proof of vaccination to gain entry. Security was high with limitations on what kinds of bags you could carry in. All bags had to be clear plastic or small pouches no larger than your hand.  

“The best part of the show was watching Mick Jagger sing, dance and run up and down the long stages for nearly two hours. He’s inspiring. If a 78-year-old man can do that, then I’d better start going to the gym,” said Devereaux after the show. 

Their play list for the SoFi Stadium concert included the following songs: Street Fighting Man; 19^th Nervous Breakdown; Beast of Burden; Wild Horses; You Can’t Always Get What You Want; Start Me Up; Honky Tonk Woman; Miss You; Midnight Rambler; Paint It Black; Sympathy for the Devil; Jumpin’ Jack Flash; and two songs by Keith Richards - Connection; and Before They Make Me Run. The Rolling Stones did two encores: “Gimmie Shelter” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” 

Jagger and Richards, both of Dartford, Kent, England have been friends since their childhood, and in 1962 they joined forces with a London bar band called Blues Incorporated. 

Their music was inspired by American blues musicians Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. By 1964, Decca Records released their first album under the name of The Rolling Stones. 

In 2016, they made history by being the first major international rock band to play in Havana, Cuba to a crowd of 1.2 million! In 2017, rumors began to circulate that they would retire but the band never made their intentions clear. The No Filter tour had to be postponed due to covid in 2020 and fans waited with their sold-out tickets for this date. 

“It’s pretty incredible that these guys are still together playing after 58 these years,” said Devereaux.  “It was an experience of a lifetime. I am so glad we made the drive and spent the money. I would have regretted it if we didn’t go,” he added.