Keith Richards isn’t in a hurry to get the Rolling Stones back on the road, according to bandmate Ronnie Wood, who says the guitarist wants a break from touring.
The Stones released their latest album, Foreign Tongues, in July, but have yet to announce any live dates in support of it. Wood says he and Mick Jagger have already begun promoting the record, but their plans for the road depend on Richards deciding what he wants to do next.
In a new interview with Otro Día Perdido, Wood explained why he’s chosen to get out and play rather than wait for his bandmates.
“Well, we had a great producer with Andrew Watt,” Wood says. “He helped us with Hackney Diamonds, and then we did a continuation in a way through to the album called Foreign Tongues. And that’s where we’ve left it at the moment.
“And Mick and I have already been promoting a little bit. But we’re waiting for Keith to settle down what he wants to do for his future, because he’s a bit road weary at the moment. He said. ‘I don’t want to do any more touring for a bit.’ So I thought, Well, I’m not gonna sit back and wait. So I’m going to get out there and play.”
Wood is currently touring in support of Fearless: Anthology 1965–2025, a career-spanning compilation that draws on his work with the Birds, the Creation, the Jeff Beck Group, Faces, the Rolling Stones and his solo projects.
Richards’ reluctance to tour may also be influenced by his arthritis. In a 2023 interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today, he discussed the condition and its effect on his playing.
“I don’t have any pain: it’s a sort of benign version. [But] I think if I’ve slowed down a little bit it’s probably due more to age.”
Wood’s Fearless tour wraps up November 10 with a performance at the Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile.
