Photo by Jim Pietryga
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Florida 1
Rod was back on tour at weekend, first up was a Friday night party in Florida, Roland Macher was at the show and here is the review by Martin Heidt
Rod is back: Music legend kicks off his 2026 tour in Florida
It was as if the two-month break had never happened. Sir Rod Stewart returned to business with his usual freshness and vitality, throwing a huge party with his first show of the new year.
Exactly 73 days after his last performance in Abu Dhabi, the 81-year-old took to the stage at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel in Hollywood and kicked things off with his classics ‘Infatuation’, ‘You Wear It Well’ and ‘Ooh La La’.
The set list was based on those of last year’s shows, but no major changes in song selection were to be expected. Sir Rod gives his audience what they want to hear – and that is primarily the big hits from around six decades.
So, at the start of the tour in Florida, hits such as ‘Tonight’s The Night’, ‘Maggie May’ and ‘Young Turks’ were not missing. He sang ‘Forever Young’ together with his daughter Ruby, who brought her son Otis on stage – much to the delight of Grandpa Rod and the audience. The little rascal was a little shy in the situation, with so many people in front of the stage and the colourful lights shining down from the ceiling, and he didn’t leave his mother’s side for a moment. But the almost three-year-old completed his first big performance with great confidence.
In addition to this moment, Stewart also surprised the audience with his song ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’, which is not necessarily part of the ‘regular repertoire’ at Rod’s concerts, but is always particularly well received by long-time fans.
For a good two hours, Sir Rod was in top form, vocally strong and radiating good humour and fun from the stage.
The audience gratefully accepted this and treated themselves to a fabulous evening. Some danced until their feet were sore, others sang along to every song, even if they couldn’t quite remember all the words. The party continues tonight – at 8 p.m. local time, Sir Rod invites you to another party at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, and we’re sure to see some familiar faces in the audience again tonight.
Set list:
Infatuation
You Wear It Well
Ooh La La
It’s A Heartache
Rolling And Tumbling
Forever Young
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Tonight’s The Night
Every Picture Tells A Story
Maggie May
I’d Rather Go Blind
Young Turks
Downtown Train
I’m Every Woman (band only)
I Don’t Want To Talk About It
People Get Ready
Have I Told You Lately
Proud Mary (band only)
It Takes Two
Some Guys Have All The Luck
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy
Love Train
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Florida 2
Next up was a Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida, Roland was there again to capture all the excitement and here are the thoughts of Martin Heidt
Derby excitement and another spectacular show
Sir Rod Stewart took the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL by storm for the second night in a row, thrilling the audience.
As on Friday, the singer performed hit after hit for around two hours, but made a few small changes to the set list compared to the previous day.
Instead of ‘Rollin’ & Tumblin’’, the stomping blues song from the Blood Red Roses album, the 80s hit ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ slipped into the programme. Stewart also added the Faces smash hit ‘Stay With Me’ to the list, as well as the Simply Red classic ‘If You Don’t Know Me By Now’. ‘Every Picture Tells A Story’ and ‘I Don’t Want To Talk About It’ were therefore left on the bench this time.
These changes did not dampen the once again magnificent atmosphere among the audience. Especially during ‘Stay With Me’, but also during ‘Young Turks’, even the slightly older fans rocked out like they did in their teenage days. When things got cosy and Sir Rod whispered ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ or ‘Have I Told You Lately’ into the microphone, the lights on mobile phones and a few lighters here and there came on.
As always, Stewart could rely on his musicians, who got the audience on their feet with ‘I’m So Excited’ and ‘Proud Mary’ when some in the arena thought they could take a breather during one of Stewart’s costume changes. It turned into a two-hour party, at the end of which Sir Rod disappeared from the stage with ‘Love Train’.
Next Tuesday, the Stewart Express will stop in Tampa, but first Rod’s focus is likely to be on Glasgow. Today at 1 p.m. (CET), the Glasgow football derby between Rangers and Celtic FC will take place at Ibrox Stadium. Due to the current league table situation in the Scottish Premiership, the game is of enormous importance for both sides. And superfan Rod Stewart will certainly be sitting down in front of the television early on Sunday morning in Florida to follow the action in faraway Glasgow. Up The Hoops!
Set list
Infatuation
You Wear It Well
Ooh La La
Tonight I’m Yours
It’s A Heartache
Forever Young
The First Cut Is The Deepest
Tonight’s The Night
Stay With Me
Maggie May
I’d Rather Go Blind
Young Turks
Downtown Train
I’m So Excited (band only)
If You Don’t Know Me By Now
People Get Ready
Have I Told You Lately
Proud Mary (band only)
It Takes Two
Some Guys Have All The Luck
Da Ya Think I’m Sexy
Love Train
Tampa Hard Rock Florida
On Wednesday Rod was back in Florida here are the thoughts of Martin Heidt
Rod Stewart celebrates quadruple in Tampa: press grumbles – fans cheer
Tampa, a city with a population of around 415,000 on the Gulf Coast of Florida, enjoyed a Rod Stewart concert for the fourth time in a row (2022-2026). And once again, for the fourth time in a row, the Hard Rock Event Centre was sold out. Tampa celebrates Stewart’s quadruple!
With a smile and a wave to the crowd, the 81-year-old singer took to the stage punctually at 8 p.m. local time and kicked off at his usual fast pace.
With ‘Infatuation,’ ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ and ‘It’s A Heartache,’ Sir Rod immediately stepped on the gas.
The audience immediately joined in, dancing and singing along loudly to the rocking tunes. Even the press representatives were swept up in a kind of enthusiasm during the first few minutes of the evening. The Tampa Bay Times noted: ‘He still looks damn good.’ The paper also emphasised that his voice is still ‘rough. How does he do it?’
Nevertheless, media representatives look very closely and often seek to find fault. ‘His band concealed imperfections,’ the writer grumbled at first. ‘He had difficulties at the beginning with a cheesy, jazzy and, frankly, somewhat strange version of his most famous hit, “Maggie May”. And he messed up the beginning of “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”. These mishaps were surprising, as he plays both songs conscientiously at every show,’ grumbled the Tampa Bay Times.
The audience clearly didn’t care, even if there were a few hiccups here and there. The fans sang along loudly to ‘Maggie’ and many other songs, and during ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’ they snatched at the signed footballs that were kicked and thrown into the audience.
So was the Tampa Bay Times critic just in a bad mood? He complained that ‘Stewart too often took a back seat, resting on the drum riser or leaving the hard work to his band.’ He also didn’t like that he disappeared backstage for two songs, leaving his band to entertain the fans with ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘Proud Mary.’ ‘When the song ended and Stewart returned to the stage, he waved to the applauding crowd as if he had something to do with it. But he really didn’t,’ the press representative noted. Well, it seems to have escaped him that these parts have been part of a Stewart concert for decades. More thorough research might have helped.
Overall, the writer, Mark Katches, remained very negative in his review. He complained that Rod interacted very little with the audience (‘was hardly noticed’) and concluded by noting that Rod left the stage without an encore, but pocketed a lot of money in the process. ‘Is that what an audience deserves?’ asked the author, who was pretty much alone in his opinion.
‘Rod Stewart was just fantastic,’ raved one concertgoer. And another fan said, ‘That was the best concert I’ve seen in a long time.’ And the cheers from the audience didn’t stop: ‘What a show,’ croaked one in a hoarse voice and laughed, ‘I sang along too much, my voice is almost gone.’
‘Fantastic, as always,’ said another concertgoer.
So let’s forget about Mr. Katrches’ point of view. Maybe the Tampa Bay Times writer was just having a bad day. And if not, it doesn’t matter.
Set list
‘Infatuation’
‘Tonight I’m Yours (Don’t Hurt Me)’
‘It’s a Heartache’
‘Hot Legs’
‘Forever Young’
‘The First Cut is the Deepest’
‘Handbags and Gladrags’
‘Maggie May’
‘I’d Rather Go Blind’
“Young Turks”
“Downtown Train”
“I’m Every Woman”
“I Don’t Want to Talk About it”
“People Get Ready”
“Have I Told You Lately”
“Proud Mary”
“It Takes Two”
“Some Guys Have all the Luck”
“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
“Love Train”
St. Augustine Amphitheater Florida
On Thursday Rod was at St. Augustine Amphitheater Florida, Stephen Armistead and David G. Cameron was at the show and David said it was “friggn awesome” and took some great shots and here is Martin Heidt’s review
Rod Stewart celebrates quadruple in Tampa: press grumbles – fans cheer
Tampa, a city with a population of around 415,000 on the Gulf Coast of Florida, enjoyed a Rod Stewart concert for the fourth time in a row (2022-2026). And once again, for the fourth time in a row, the Hard Rock Event Centre was sold out. Tampa celebrates Stewart’s quadruple!
With a smile and a wave to the crowd, the 81-year-old singer took to the stage punctually at 8 p.m. local time and kicked off at his usual fast pace.
With ‘Infatuation,’ ‘Tonight I’m Yours’ and ‘It’s A Heartache,’ Sir Rod immediately stepped on the gas.
The audience immediately joined in, dancing and singing along loudly to the rocking tunes. Even the press representatives were swept up in a kind of enthusiasm during the first few minutes of the evening. The Tampa Bay Times noted: ‘He still looks damn good.’ The paper also emphasised that his voice is still ‘rough. How does he do it?’
Nevertheless, media representatives look very closely and often seek to find fault. ‘His band concealed imperfections,’ the writer grumbled at first. ‘He had difficulties at the beginning with a cheesy, jazzy and, frankly, somewhat strange version of his most famous hit, “Maggie May”. And he messed up the beginning of “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”. These mishaps were surprising, as he plays both songs conscientiously at every show,’ grumbled the Tampa Bay Times.
The audience clearly didn’t care, even if there were a few hiccups here and there. The fans sang along loudly to ‘Maggie’ and many other songs, and during ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’ they snatched at the signed footballs that were kicked and thrown into the audience.
So was the Tampa Bay Times critic just in a bad mood? He complained that ‘Stewart too often took a back seat, resting on the drum riser or leaving the hard work to his band.’ He also didn’t like that he disappeared backstage for two songs, leaving his band to entertain the fans with ‘I’m Every Woman’ and ‘Proud Mary.’ ‘When the song ended and Stewart returned to the stage, he waved to the applauding crowd as if he had something to do with it. But he really didn’t,’ the press representative noted. Well, it seems to have escaped him that these parts have been part of a Stewart concert for decades. More thorough research might have helped.
Overall, the writer, Mark Katches, remained very negative in his review. He complained that Rod interacted very little with the audience (‘was hardly noticed’) and concluded by noting that Rod left the stage without an encore, but pocketed a lot of money in the process. ‘Is that what an audience deserves?’ asked the author, who was pretty much alone in his opinion.
‘Rod Stewart was just fantastic,’ raved one concertgoer. And another fan said, ‘That was the best concert I’ve seen in a long time.’ And the cheers from the audience didn’t stop: ‘What a show,’ croaked one in a hoarse voice and laughed, ‘I sang along too much, my voice is almost gone.’
‘Fantastic, as always,’ said another concertgoer.
So let’s forget about Mr. Katrches’ point of view. Maybe the Tampa Bay Times writer was just having a bad day. And if not, it doesn’t matter.
Set list
‘Infatuation’
‘Tonight I’m Yours (Don’t Hurt Me)’
‘It’s a Heartache’
‘Hot Legs’
‘Forever Young’
‘The First Cut is the Deepest’
‘Handbags and Gladrags’
‘Maggie May’
‘I’d Rather Go Blind’
“Young Turks”
“Downtown Train”
“I’m Every Woman”
“I Don’t Want to Talk About it”
“People Get Ready”
“Have I Told You Lately”
“Proud Mary”
“It Takes Two”
“Some Guys Have all the Luck”
“Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
“Love Train”
This week’s Rod Art
Had to feature this great painting..Who else could you recognise just from the shoes they wear?
This is the work of the brilliant James Moir [Vic Reeves]
Explaining the inspiration for his inspired painting James said “I was performing at the Royal Albert Hall with Rod and asked if I could paint his shoes,and here they are. He had the good grace to lift his pink satin trousers to invite a better glance. Lovely bloke”.
To see more artwork by James Moir go to https://www.instagram.com/jamesmoir12/ or jimmoir.com
Paperback writer
On Tuesday Penny was guest on The One Show promoting her book Someone Like Me that come out in paperback this week
Also on the show was Billy Idol
What’s On
Ronnie Wood will be returning to the legendary Paradiso Amsterdam on 7th September 2026! Tickets are limited, but anyone who subscribes tohis mailing list will receive exclusive pre-sale access which starts at 4pm CET/ 3pm GMT on Wednesday 11th March.
Sign up here: https://uk-umg.com/um-forms/14172-588827.html
Pre-sale: Wednesday 11th March at 4pm CET/ 3pm GMT
On-sale: Friday 13th March at 11am CET/ 10am GMT
And Finally…
Lets finish with another superb shot from SMILER photographer Jim Pietryga of Rod and Ruby’s duet
Anyone going to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at Etess Arena
Atlantic City, New Jersey or TD Coliseum Hamilton, ON next week have a great night and please send in any photos or reviews for next week’s news
See you next week…
6 replies on “This week’s news and gossip”
Love to see Ruby singing with her dad! JD
Superb photo’s from Jim
And absolutely great photos.
Agreed, she’s very good at it.
‘Every Picture,..’ needs to be a staple in setlist once again.
Fireworks after the Old Firm match with unruly fans, Celtic on top after penalty kicks. Devastating for Ranger supporters. JD