Rod Stewart has been on the road for more than 60 years, and now, at 81, he is finally saying goodbye to the touring life. The “Forever Young” singer announced plans to retire from mounting major tours in the future, while stressing that he is not going away entirely.
“I’m not retiring, but this will be the last rock n’ roll tour,” Stewart said in an Instagram video posted early Monday morning (Sept. 28). “So I want to thank you for everything you’ve given me and hopefully I’ve given you something in return.”
Stewart was dressed in white pants and a matching shirt, topped with a gold brocade jacket. He leaned over toward a piano and started striking one of its keys while shouting his singing, “So please come out and see me on the tour! It’s gonna be great!”.
The Caveat
Stewart has put out American songbook albums over his career, and the warning that this was his final “rock” tour means he could still hit the road again down the line.
In a statement, Stewart elaborated on the decision. “My dear friends, the time has come to say farewell to life on the road,” he said. “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. It has given me a life beyond anything I could ever have imagined, and I hope I’ve given you some fond memories in return.”
He went on to say, “So, may I take this opportunity to thank you for making this extraordinary life possible. I hope you’ll join me so I can thank you the best way I know how … with the music and one hell of a show. See you there.”
The European Dates
The European outing is slated to kick off on April 23, 2027 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. From there, the tour moves through Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London before heading across the continent.
This journey touches many cities across Europe, from Amsterdam to Antwerp and Berlin, then Düsseldorf, Copenhagen, and Helsinki, before heading into Sweden with a stop at Rättvik. It continues through Norway, with visits to Trondheim and Bergen, before passing through Budapest, Munich, and Pula in Croatia. The trip then moves on to Prague and Kraków in Poland, before concluding its run on July 24, at ZAG Arena in Hannover, Germany.
“It’s gonna be great!”
Medical Setbacks
Medical problems caused Stewart to cancel several dates on his One Last Time North American tour. In June, he reportedly had to use an oxygen tank and pause his concert in Utah after doubling over in discomfort and nearly fainting on stage.
He called off a June 12 performance in San Diego just under an hour before it was supposed to start because of a reported acute upper respiratory infection. He was then seen at the Scotland World Cup match in Boston.
Two shows were waved off by Stewart in August because of what was then described as an “unforeseen but minor medical procedure that required prompt attention.”. He subsequently disclosed that he had undergone a routine coronary stent procedure.
After the procedure, a statement was put out that said, “Doctors are pleased with his recovery, and Rod is doing very well and has returned to his normal daily activities. On the advice of his doctors, he will take the next four weeks to recuperate and regain full fitness before returning to the stage. Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to continue his current tour dates.”
Stewart called off the rest of his North American One Last Time farewell tour on Aug. 9, after the procedure. That decision affected concerts set for Kansas City, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado and a series of shows in Mexico.
A Long Career
More than 60 years have passed since Stewart began performing live as a solo artist and as part of British rock band the Faces, and also as the singer in the Jeff Beck Group. His current tour, the One Last Time trek, started in 2024.
Earlier this year, he told British sports chat show talkSPORT that after next year’s shows he was planning to call it a day on major tours. “Then I’m touring the U.K. next year, doing The O2, and that’ll probably be it, I think,” he said. “I’ll have to do something new, come on your show more often, maybe.”
The Statement
Stewart has made his position plain. The heavy, exhausting work of rock touring is over, he says, though he leaves room for smaller, quieter performances that demand less endurance from him.
The difference matters greatly. One who has spent many years singing loud rock songs understands fully how hard it treats the voice and the body. By calling this his final rock tour, he is guarding himself against the expected questions about why he keeps returning to it.
He is also preparing for a time when he can continue performing. The American songbook albums require a different approach — gentler tempos, less demanding on the voice, a body of work that favors restraint over raw power. Those performances would not qualify as “rock” tours by his own definition of the term.
The final words sum up the feeling nicely. Stewart is thanking people who follow him for making his life possible, and he is promising to pay them back with music and a great show.
The Bottom Line
Stewart is 81 years old and has been performing for more than six decades. He has seen the business change around him.
The declaration is a masterful exercise in business sense. It offers listeners a clear finish point — a final tour, a closing act — even as it leaves the door slightly open for a separate form of performance to come later.
Stewart sees the numbers clearly. A career spent traveling for sixty years is a lengthy one, and even a rock star eventually reaches a point where he must stop.
His past suggests he will not stop, even though nobody is saying that out loud. The question is whether he will end it, and the answer rests on his record.
He is declaring this his final rock tour, and that fact carries significant weight.
Source material: “Rod Stewart Announces Dates For 2027 Final Encore European Tour With a Very Important Caveat: ‘I’m Not Retiring’,” Billboard.
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