The Rolling Stones Honor Charlie Watts At First Show Since His Death

The Rolling Stones played their first show of 2021 last night (Sept. 21), which also served as their first show since the death of longtime drummer Charlie Watts. Frontman Mick Jagger honored their late bandmate during the performance.

The private concert took place at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., and was put together by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

"This is the first show of our 2021 tour, so this is it, this is the tryout," Jagger said to the audience, which can be seen in a video he uploaded on Twitter. "I must say though, at this point it’s a bit of a poignant night for us because it’s our first tour in 59 years that we’ve done without our lovely Charlie Watts."

"We all miss Charlie so much. We miss him as a band, we miss him as friends, on and off the stage," he continued. "We’ve got so many memories of Charlie, and I’m sure some of you that have seen us before have got memories of Charlie as well. And I hope you will remember him like we do. So we’d like to dedicate this show to Charlie — let’s have a drink to Charlie.”

See the clip below.

In early August, the Stones announced that Watts wouldn't be playing on their 2021 tour, per doctors' advice. Steve Jordan, who's worked with Keith Richards on various side projects, was announced as the fill-in for Watts. But on Aug. 24, Watts' publicist confirmed that the legendary drummer had died peacefully in a London hospital. He was 80 years old.

The band's next formal show will take place on Sept. 26 in St. Louis, Mo. See the rest of their tour dates on their website.