Rod Stewart has spent more than six decades taking his music around the world. In 2027, he says that part of his career will finally come to an end.
The 81-year-old singer announced The Final Encore, a 21-date U.K. and European farewell tour beginning next April. “The time has come to say farewell to life on the road,” Stewart said, adding that after more than six decades of touring, the new run will “most definitely” be his last.
Official Charts confirmed the tour begins April 23 at Dublin’s 3Arena and runs through July 24 at ZAG Arena in Hannover, Germany. Live Nation describes the run as the culmination of a live career spanning more than six decades, with Stewart promising fans “one hell of a show” before stepping away from regular touring.
That does not mean Stewart is retiring from music altogether. He has left the door open to occasional performances, and unfinished studio work with former Faces bandmates also remains on his agenda.
Stewart Says It Is Time to Say Goodbye to Life on the Road
View this post on Instagram
Stewart’s announcement looked back at a touring life that began when he was still a teenager. He told fans he has been singing the music he loves since he was 19 and thanked them for giving him a career beyond anything he could have imagined.
The language is considerably firmer than some of his earlier comments about slowing down. In May, Stewart had suggested that another U.K. run in 2027 would “probably” be his last.
The Guardian notes that Stewart’s life on the road actually stretches back to the early 1960s, before his breakthrough with the Jeff Beck Group, Faces and eventually his solo career.
‘The Final Encore’ Starts in Dublin and Runs Through Europe
The newly announced itinerary begins April 23 in Dublin before moving through Belfast, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and London. Howard Jones will support Stewart on those six U.K. and Irish dates, including the May 11 show at London’s O2.
From there, the tour moves across continental Europe, with stops including Amsterdam, Antwerp, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Budapest, Munich, Pula, Prague and Kraków. Official Charts lists the final Final Encore date as July 24 at ZAG Arena in Hannover. The current schedule contains 21 shows in total.
The tour announcement calls that Hannover show the end of Stewart’s farewell run, but it is not currently his last scheduled performance of 2027. Two One Last Time concerts postponed from this June remain booked for Sept. 2 and 3 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. The Guardian reports that he has not ruled out individual shows after he stops undertaking full tours.
The Announcement Follows Several Health-Related Schedule Changes
View this post on Instagram
Stewart’s farewell announcement comes after a year in which health issues repeatedly disrupted his live schedule. The Red Rocks postponements followed the vocal-fold inflammation in June, while he later paused a Utah performance and received oxygen after telling the audience he had nearly fainted.
In August, Stewart underwent a coronary stent procedure. AP reported that his representative described it as a routine procedure and said Stewart was recovering well, but doctors advised him to take four weeks off. Stewart said at the time that he was already feeling better and was disappointed to miss the shows.
Leaving the Road Does Not Mean Stewart Is Done Making Music
Touring may be ending, but Stewart still has unfinished studio work. He and Ronnie Wood have been discussing new Faces material for years, with surviving members Stewart, Wood and Kenney Jones recording a substantial group of songs for what would be the band’s first studio album since Ooh La La in 1973.
NME reported that Wood said the main obstacle has been finding time when everyone’s schedules align. Kenney Jones previously said the band had recorded about 11 tracks at London’s RAK Studios, while Wood said they intend to return and finish the material when they can.
That plan still appears alive. In a more recent interview, Wood said he had seen Stewart and hoped they could return to the studio toward the end of the year to continue work on the existing Faces tracks.
His Most Recent Album Still Reached No. 1
Stewart is leaving touring at a point when his recording career remains active. His most recent studio album, the Jools Holland collaboration Swing Fever, reached No. 1 in the U.K. in 2024, extending a run of chart-topping albums that began more than half a century earlier.
Live Nation credits Stewart with 11 U.K. No. 1 albums, 31 U.K. Top 10 singles and an estimated 250 million records and singles sold worldwide. He has also been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, first as a solo artist and later as a member of Faces.