With a band as venerated and decorated as The Rolling Stones, it sometimes feels like they’re out of surprises. The band of former hard-scrabble British rockers has ruled stadiums for the better part of half a century and has a catalog of hits long enough to fill marathon concerts and still leave fans wanting more. But even the octogenarians are able to catch fans off-guard, which The Rolling Stones did on Friday by playing a surprise concert at the 650-capacity Racket in New York City.
The invite-only, seven-song performance came in celebration of another startling development in the world of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood et al., the first new Rolling Stones album in 18 years. Hackney Diamonds hit streaming services at midnight, and just prior to that the Stones hit the stage at the club formerly known as the Highline Ballroom. Rubbing shoulders among the capacity crowd were comedians Chris Rock, Jimmy Fallon, Trevor Noah, and Daniel Craig alongside musicians Elvis Costello and Diana Krall and actress Christine Brinkley, per USA Today.
Obligated to hype up the new record, The Stones teeter-tottered between the old and the new, mixing time-tested classics between fresh compositions. Taking the stage, Mick advised the crowd “We’re gonna play some old, and we’re gonna play some new,” before launching into the band’s ode to seedy New York “Shattered”.
Balanced between the back catalog were Hackney cuts like “Angry” and “Whole Wide World”. When stacked up against the classics, new tracks—specifically “Angry”—revealed their old school Stones DNA as the genetics of Keith’s hard-driving blues riffs and Mick’s howling vocals remain a constant all these decades later.
The Stones harkened back to those halcyon days of the 1970s with “Tumbling Dice”, juxtaposed with the newbie “Bite My Head Off” before Keith revved up the engines with the iconic intro to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” to close the set. Just when you thought the Stones had laid all their cards on the table, the band returned for the obligatory encore with one more surprise up their sleeves, special guest Lady Gaga who joined in midway through “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven”, her Hackney Diamonds collab with the Rolling Stones that also features Stevie Wonder. The vocal powerhouses of Mick and Lady Gaga went toe-to-toe on the gospel-infused rocker, building to a crescendo that left both gasping for air as the band took their final bows.
Check out some videos from the surprise Rolling Stones club concert (where phones were not allowed) and stream Hackney Diamonds below or on your preferred platform.
The Rolling Stones – “Angry” – 10/19/23
[Video: Rolling Stones Archive]
The Rolling Stones – “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” [Pro-Shot] – 10/19/23
The Rolling Stones w/ Lady Gaga – “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” – 10/19/23
[Video: Rolling Stones Archive]
The Rolling Stones w/ Lady Gaga – “Sweet Sounds Of Heaven” – 10/19/23 – Partial
[Video: ROLLING STONE Deutschland]
The Rolling Stones – Hackney Diamonds
Setlist: The Rolling Stones | Racket | New York, NY | 10/19/23
Set: Shattered, Angry, Whole Wide World, Tumbling Dice, Bite My Head Off, Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Encore: Sweet Sounds Of Heaven [1]
[1] w/ Lady Gaga