How Have the Rolling Stones' Set Lists Changed Over 60 Years?

The Rolling Stones will kick off their ’24 Hackney Diamonds tour on Sunday at Houston’s NRG Stadium, extending their reign as classic rock’s biggest touring juggernaut.

In their 60-plus-year career, the Stones have played more than 2,100 concerts and remained one of the most coveted live acts in the business. They’ve sold hundreds of millions of records and racked up dozens of hits over the past six decades. Couple that with a new album, last year’s Hackney Diamonds, and it’s anyone’s guess what the Stones will play on their new trek.

But however Sunday’s show pans out, it’s guaranteed to look a lot different than the first time the Rolling Stones visited Houston.

When Did the Rolling Stones First Play Houston?

The Rolling Stones first visited Space City on July 11, 1966, playing the Sam Houston Coliseum in the midst of their U.S. tour in support of that year’s Aftermath. Although that specific set list is not available on setlist.fm, the website shows that the average set list on that tour consisted of only 12 songs. Keen to show off their newfound songwriting ambitions, they pulled heavily from Aftermath, showcasing the likes of “Lady Jane,” “Mother’s Little Helper,” “Paint It Black” and “Under My Thumb.” The previous year’s Out of Our Heads got plenty of attention as well, including “Play With Fire,” “The Last Time” and the band’s first-ever U.S. No. 1 hit, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”

You can see the average 1966 tour set list below.

How Have the Rolling Stones’ Set Lists Changed Since Then?

In the years following their Houston debut, the Rolling Stones’ set lists evolved dramatically — unsurprising, considering their best work was still ahead of them at that point. Flash forward to the band’s 2022 Sixty tour, and they were pulling heavily from their late-‘60s to early-‘70s imperial phase, giving plenty of love to Exile on Main St., Let It Bleed and Beggars Banquet. The Stones also made room for mid-‘70s and ‘80s hits such as “Miss You” and “Start Me Up.”

You can see the average 2022 tour set list below.

What to Expect From the '24 Hackney Diamonds Tour

It stands to reason that a lot of the songs from the Rolling Stones’ 2022 tour will remain in the set list during the ’24 Hackney Diamonds tour. But they’ll naturally have to make some cuts in order to account for their new album. They could also swap out a few classics for some lesser hits or deep cuts, since they’re not celebrating a monumental anniversary this time. Whatever the Rolling Stones end up playing on this tour, it will only scratch the surface of their massive, beloved catalog.

Rolling Stones 1966 'Aftermath' Tour Average Set List (via setlist.fm)

1. Not Fade Away”
2. “The Last Time”
3. “Stupid Girl”
4. “Play With Fire”
5. “Paint It Black”
6. “The Spider and the Fly”
7. “Get Off of My Cloud”
8. “19th Nervous Breakdown”
9. “Lady Jane”
10. “Mother’s Little Helper”
11. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
12. “Under My Thumb

Rolling Stones 2022 'Sixty' Tour Average Set List (via setlist.fm)

1. “Street Fighting Man”
2. “19th Nervous Breakdown”
3. “Tumbling Dice”
4. “Out of Time”
5. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
6. “Living in a Ghost Town”
7. “Honky Tonk Women”
8. “You Got the Silver”
9. “Slipping Away”
10. “Connection”
11. “Happy”
12. “Miss You”
13. “Midnight Rambler”
14. “Paint It Black”
15. “Start Me Up”
16. “Gimme Shelter”
17. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
18. “Sympathy for the Devil”
19. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”