Rolling Stones "50 & Counting" Tour Concert Dates and Cities: Is This Their Last Tour?

Get ready North America, the Rolling Stones are coming to a town near you next month! The band announced Wednesday, their first North American tour in a whopping seven years. The tour is titled “50 & Counting” and will make stops along the West Coast, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, and Philly. Except the Big Apple stop is yet to be announced …

Granted, thus far, only nine dates have been announced, but Billboard revealed that the Stones plan to play up to 18 or more shows, adding more in the areas where they are already planned to play. According to the band's site, the first confirmed date is May 5 in Oakland with arena dates set for San Jose (May 8), Las Vegas (May 11), and Anaheim (May 15). From there the group has a small break before continuing at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on May 25, Chicago's United Center on May 28, and Boston's TD North Garden on June 12. The tour is currently set to conclude on June 18 in Philadelphia.

Ending the tour before making a pit stop in New York City would obviously not bode well with the millions of fans they have residing there. I mean is it fair or strategic to make stops in other major American cities without playing at least one night in arguably the greatest one in the nation? Sure, we get you’re extremely famous and sought after and wonderful, but what better way to celebrate your 50th anniversary than under bright lights with the hippest crowd you’ll get? It’s a central playing ground for smaller cities in the area to come to New York for!

Band member Ronnie Wood included his thoughts about the decision to tour in an interview with Spinner: "Well it's about time gents, I've been waiting for this call." Opening acts will include Temper Trap, the Vaccines, and Gary Clark Jr., only adding to the excitement.

Tickets for the early tour cities go on sale this Monday at 10 a.m, with tickets ranging from $175-$600 (for now). Of course after they sell out immediately, sites like Stub Hub and Ticket Triangle will be selling them for many more hundreds of dollars. For more information, visit this link.