Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger: "My job on stage isn't to do politics. The audience at concerts should have fun, I don't want to preach at them"

As more and more artists choose to turn their concerts into a space for political reflection – from Bruce Springsteen to Tom Morello – Mick Jagger continues to see the stage in a very different light. For the frontman of Rolling Stones, the job of a live performer isn't to "preach" or lecture the audience, but to offer a moment of escape, fun and shared experience.
The singer touched on the subject during his appearance on "The Interview", the New York Times podcast published on YouTube on July 11th, in which he discussed the Stones' new album, "Foreign Tongues", released on July 10th, as well as his long-standing relationship with audiences.
During the conversation, host David Marchese compared different ways of experiencing the stage: on one hand Bob Dylan, whose relationship with the audience seems almost secondary to the performance itself, and on the other Bruce Springsteen, who sees a concert as a genuine exchange with the crowd. Asked what his relationship with the audience means to him, Jagger explained that it all depends on the context, citing as examples major festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, British Summer Time in Hyde Park, and Glastonbury.

"First of all, it depends on where you are and what kind of event it is. Take the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, for example: it's a festival. The audience didn't necessarily come to see you. They bought their tickets before knowing you'd even be there. The same thing happens at British Summer Time Hyde Park in London or at Glastonbury: you buy those tickets because you like the festival. The people there aren't necessarily your biggest fans. I'm not saying they hate you, otherwise they probably wouldn't be there. There are different levels of that kind of audience, and you have to treat them slightly differently." This very view of the concert, according to Jagger, is why he prefers to keep politics out of the show. "The fundamental point is that my job, in the world of live music, is to make sure the people there have as much fun as possible. And that they forget all their problems and the problems of the world. The mortgage and everything else. Simply, to make sure they have the best possible time. It's actually similar to going to a sporting event. Everything else is left outside. You're just watching the game to see who wins. You don't worry about anything else. From the stage, you don't want to try to stir up the audience until they feel frustrated because they're not showing enough enthusiasm. Or because you think they're not having fun. Your job is to make them even more excited about the festival. You don't want to lecture them."

The English musician also noted that audience engagement can't necessarily be measured by the most visible displays of enthusiasm: some people sing and dance throughout the entire show, while others experience the concert in a more low-key way. For this reason, he stressed, artists shouldn't get discouraged if a crowd seems less warm than in other countries: "They're enjoying it in their own way."
Jagger did, however, clarify that he isn't against including political references in Rolling Stones songs. In fact, he explained that over the years he's developed a writing technique that lets him alternate between personal themes and observations about society, adding that at thirty he wouldn't have written many of the songs on "Foreign Tongues". "I've also gotten into this habit of writing songs about personal relationships and then throwing in a verse about politics. I think it's a trick I learned from other songwriters, because nobody wants to listen to a whole song about politics or any kind of social commentary. For instance, a blues track like 'Rough and Twisted' is really just a stream of consciousness, honestly. You talk about women and everything else, and then you slip in stuff that's clearly political. 'The only club was called Conspiracy… / All they wanted was tyranny'. So you end up using these little tricks."

The comments from the Rolling Stones frontman have been read by many as an indirect dig at Bruce Springsteen, who during his recent "Land Of Hope And Dreams Tour" chose instead to tackle political themes head-on, going as far as to harshly criticize the Trump administration and declare: "This White House is trashing the American ideal and our reputation around the world." For Jagger, however, the main purpose of a concert remains something else: letting people leave behind, if only for a few hours, the worries of everyday life.

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