Mark Allan/Invision/AP
Mick Jagger, left, and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones perform in London. The Stones have canceled their No Filter tour of North America, including a planned appearance at the 2019 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. (Photo by Mark Allan, Invision via The Associated Press)
You can’t always get what you want, New Orleans.
The Rolling Stones’ much-touted appearance at the 2019 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has been canceled, Jazz Fest said Saturday (March 30) amid reports that frontman Mick Jagger is ailing. The band scrubbed the entire North American leg of its No Filter tour.
Jagger “has been advised by doctors he cannot go on tour at this time as he needs medical treatment,” the band said in a tweet. The doctors expect Mick to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible.”
The band did not release details about Jagger’s condition, but the 75-year-old lead singer took to social media to apologize.
The Stones were one of the few acts big enough to befit the 50th anniversary of Jazz Fest, which takes place at the Fair Grounds race track during the last weekend of April and first weekend of May. The band was scheduled to play May 2 during what was supposed to be a limited-capacity festival day. Tickets to the singular show quickly sold out, with hundreds camping outside the Superdome on a chilly January day to buy admission to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members perform.
A Jazz Fest spokesman said no further information was immediately available Saturday.
The cancelation presents quite a conundrum for Jazz Fest. No other bands were scheduled to perform elsewhere at the Fair Grounds when the Stones took the Acura Stage at 5 p.m. So now the Jazz Fest schedule is completely blank after Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk finishes on the Acura Stage at 4:30 p.m.. The Gentilly, Congo Square and other stages close that day at 4 p.m. or earlier.
Ailing Mick Jagger tells fans: ‘I’m so sorry. I really hate letting you down’
Jagger’s doctors have told him not to go on tour because he needs ‘medical treatment.’
In addition to the Jazz Fest gig, the Stones postponed 16 other concerts beginning April 20 in Miami and ending July 29 in Oro-Medonte, Ontario. Tour promoters AEG Presents and Concerts West advised ticket holders to keep their tickets, which they said will valid for when the shows are rescheduled. It was not clear if these conditions applied to the Jazz Fest ticket holders. Jazz Fest said that details about ticket refunds and second weekend VIP packages will be forthcoming.
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Hanna Krueger covers criminal justice, New Orleans living and breaking news for NOLA.com | Times-Picayune. Contact her by email at hkrueger@nola.com or on Twitter @HannaSKrueger.
