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Keith Richards says The Rolling Stones won’t tour in 2026, leaving 2027 in play
Keith Richards says The Rolling Stones won’t tour in 2026, but hints at a possible return in 2027 after Foreign Tongues.
Keith Richards has ruled out a Rolling Stones tour in 2026, even as the band leaves the door open for the year after. Asked about the possibility of getting back on the road this year, Richards kept it plain: “We can talk next year. At the moment, we’re just sort of saying, we’ve finished the record… [and we’re] considering what to do after. Pretty soon, but not this year.”
The comment lands after a busy stretch for the Stones, who earlier this month officially announced Foreign Tongues, their new record due July 10 via Polydor/Universal Music. The album will include 14 tracks, among them the lead single ‘In The Stars’ and the raw, bluesy ‘Rough And Twisted’, plus guest appearances from Paul McCartney, Robert Smith, Steve Winwood and the band’s late drummer Charlie Watts. Ronnie Wood also revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that the album includes a version of Amy Winehouse’s ‘You Know I’m No Good’, first heard on her landmark 2006 album Back To Black.
The touring question has been hanging over the group since late 2025, when plans for a UK and European stadium run in 2026 were scrapped because Richards was unable to “commit” to it. That followed their North American Hackney Diamonds tour in 2024, a run that ranked Number Six on the list of the highest-grossing music world tours of the year. Their most recent UK shows came in 2022, when two large BST Hyde Park dates were followed by a stadium concert in Liverpool.
What happens next matters because a 2027 tour would also keep the band in the conversation around Glastonbury. The Stones last headlined Worthy Farm in 2013, their first appearance at the festival, and another run on the road would leave open the possibility of a return to the Pyramid Stage. Organisers have already confirmed the next Glastonbury will take place from Wednesday June 23 to Sunday June 27 in 2027.
For now, though, the focus is on the album itself and the pace at which it came together. The band recorded Foreign Tongues in less than a month at Metropolis Studios in West London with producer Andrew Watt, who also worked on Hackney Diamonds. At a recent media event in New York, Mick Jagger described how Robert Smith ended up on the record: “He was standing there with his back to me and this long gown on and when he turned around, he was covered in lipstick,” Jagger said. “And I said, I never met him before, ‘You’re Robert Smith of The Cure’. And he said, ‘Yeah, we’ve never met’. And I said, ‘While you’re here, you better go and do something’. That’s how collaborations work sometimes.”
Jagger has also spoken warmly about the Metropolis sessions. “I love doing these recording sessions in London at Metropolis,” he said. “It was a very intense few weeks recording ‘Foreign Tongues’. We had 14 great tracks and we went as fast as we could. I like the room there as it’s not too big so you can feel the passion in the room from everyone.”
Rumour remains thick around the 2027 Glastonbury lineup, with names such as Sam Fender, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, Eminem, Chappell Roan, Little Simz and Fred Again all being discussed for the Pyramid Stage. Oasis have also been linked, though Liam Gallagher previously said he “hates” the Pyramid Stage as “it’s like playing to a load of jamboree teachers”.
