Rock legend Sir Rod Stewart will retire after more than 60 years on stage, wrapping his career with one final tour called “The Final Encore.”
Page Six reports that the 81-year-old singer will finish his career on the road next year, opening “The Final Encore” at Dublin’s 3Arena.
Stewart made the call after more than six decades in front of crowds, and after a recent heart scare that already pulled him off a U.S. run.
Last month he canceled the remaining 11 dates of his American tour, including a six-date Las Vegas residency, after doctors fitted a stent. A stent is a small wire tube placed in the coronary arteries to keep blood moving to the heart when a blockage threatens.
He left little room for a sequel.
Stewart said:
“After more than six decades, The Final Encore will most definitely be my last.”
He also looked back on a life built from the stage outward.
Stewart said:
“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.”
And he invited fans to close the book with him the only way he knows.
Stewart said:
“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 h*** of a show. See you there.”
Those lines match the scale of the catalog. Stewart has sold more than 250 million records worldwide. He is a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, once as a solo star and once with The Faces, and remains tied to hits such as “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
The retirement news lands on the heels of a medical stoppage that cut short his latest American dates.
After the stent procedure, Stewart wrote on Instagram that he was already improving.
He posted:
“I’m already feeling better and very much on the mend.”
He thanked the medical team that treated him.
Stewart wrote:
“I want to thank the doctors, nurses and everyone who has taken such wonderful care of me.”
He also owned the letdown for ticket holders.
Stewart added:
“I am deeply disappointed to miss these shows and sorry to let my fans down, but I look forward to getting back on stage and having a good time with you all again soon.”
His representative later posted a fuller update. Doctors were “pleased with his recovery.” The statement said he had returned to normal daily activities but would take the next four weeks to recuperate and regain full fitness before returning to the stage.
The representative said:
“Unfortunately, this means he will be unable to continue his current tour dates.”
Promoters and venues, the statement added, would handle word on the affected performances.
The plan now points overseas. “The Final Encore” is set to begin next year at Dublin’s 3Arena, giving European fans the first crack at the send-off after the aborted U.S. leg.
Absolute calendar dates for the announcement, the heart procedure, and the full farewell schedule were not detailed beyond those relative markers, “last month” for the cancellations, “next year” for the Dublin launch, and four weeks set aside for recovery.
What is clear is the frame Stewart chose: more than 60 years on stage, a career that started when he was 19, and a final tour he describes as the last.
Old-school headliners still know how to leave the stage, on their feet, with a band, and with the crowd singing along.
