New York - AFP
The Rolling Stones, who in their fifth decade remain some of the top earners in the live music business, on Thursday announced a 2016 tour of Latin America.
The English rockers, who last played Latin America in 2006, will start the tour on February 3 at the National Stadium in Chile."The audiences in Latin America are some of the best there (are). The atmosphere is electric," guitarist Keith Richards said in a promotional video.
The tour will mark the first time that Mick Jagger's band performs in Colombia, Peru and Uruguay, despite decades of globetrotting.
The Stones will also play four dates in Brazil, three concerts in Argentina and close the tour on March 14 in Mexico City.
Members of the legendary band are all in their 70s but have kept up an active touring schedule and keep fetching some of the industry's highest ticket prices.
The Rolling Stones' last tour was a 15-date swing through North America earlier this year, which grossed more than $100 million according to an estimate by industry journal Billboard.
"People said 30 years ago, 'Yeah, this will be your last tour.' An old expression now -- it's like, okay, we don't believe we'll ever stop," a band member, who was not identified but sounded like drummer Charlie Watts, said on the video.
The Stones have not released an album of new material since 2005's "A Bigger Bang," which was accompanied by the second highest-grossing tour in history at more than $600 million, topped only by U2.
But Richards, who earlier this year released solo work, recently said that the Stones would return to the studio after the Latin America tour to record a new album.