Rod Stewart wraps up sixty year touring career with concert at Ziggo Dome

Rod Stewart, the 81 year old British rock legend, has announced that he will be hitting the road one final time in 2027. The farewell tour, called The Final Encore, will bring him to the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on May 28, 2027. Tickets go on sale this Friday. For Dutch fans, this is likely the last chance to see Stewart perform live, as the singer has made clear that after this tour he is done with life on the road.

The tour kicks off in April 2027 with shows in Ireland and the United Kingdom, with stops in Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London, among others. After the UK dates, an extensive European leg follows, taking in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Düsseldorf and Copenhagen before wrapping up in Hannover, Germany, in July 2027. Stewart also has two shows scheduled at Red Rocks in Colorado in September 2027, concerts he had to reschedule after running into health problems during his American farewell tour, One Last Time.

That American tour was a rough ride. Stewart had to cancel multiple shows due to flu, COVID and throat issues, and during a performance in Utah he had to briefly pause and use an oxygen mask after nearly passing out. He then pulled the plug on the rest of the tour following a heart procedure. Earlier this year, his appearance at the legendary Glastonbury festival also seemed to be in jeopardy, but that show did go ahead in the end. Despite everything, he reportedly appeared in good vocal shape according to The Guardian, though his age does show in his struggle to hold long notes.

Stewart's career stretches all the way back to the early sixties, when as a teenager he travelled through Europe playing harmonica in a duo with folk singer Wizz Jones. That adventure ended in less than glorious fashion when he was deported from Spain as a vagrant. He went on to play with various bands, including Jimmy Powell and the Five Dimensions and Shotgun Express, before breaking through as the frontman of the Jeff Beck Group and then Faces. His solo career began taking serious shape in the late sixties and produced a string of major hits. Following Every Picture Tells a Story in 1971, which topped the UK charts, 28 of his 29 studio albums reached the British top ten. His most recent record, Swing Fever from 2024, a collaboration with Jools Holland, even hit the number one spot.

In a statement accompanying the tour announcement, Stewart said: "The time has come to say farewell to life on the road. After more than six decades, The Final Encore will most definitely be my last. I've been singing the music I love since I was 19 years old, and I've had the privilege of taking it around the world to all of you." He closed with words of gratitude to his audience for the extraordinary life his career has given him. The setlist is expected to feature his biggest classics, including Maggie May, Sailing, Tonight's The Night, Hot Legs, Young Turks, Forever Young and Have I Told You Lately. Stewart has also said he is working on new material with his former Faces bandmate Ronnie Wood, though he has not ruled out making the occasional appearance after The Final Encore.