Seeing a live performance of musicians like Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan or The Who is a community experience and an opportunity to catch the stars one last time.

On July 22, heavy metal got a little lighter with the passing away of John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne who, on December 23 this year, would have turned 77. He co-founded Black Sabbath in 1968 as its lead vocalist. In almost having a premonition of his demise, just 17 days prior to that, on July 5 he celebrated the end of his band – with its original line-up – by being part of the farewell ‘Back To The Beginning’ benefit concert, so named after the band’s formation in Aston, Birmingham, which is precisely where the concert occurred.

All 45,000 tickets for the concert were sold out within 16 minutes with over 150,000 people having waited in a virtual queue for the opportunity to attend, including this writer, with about 20% of the tickets being purchased by international fans. None of the guest acts on the bill were paid, only receiving reimbursement for their travel expenses, with the entire event streamed online via pay per view, peaking at 5.8 million streams.

For those who were present for the replays of the concert, one of which was held by event organiser Salsa49 on July 6 at Mumbai’s Stables, accepted that viewing the play back invoked nostalgia and sentimentality and, following those decades of the band being in business, attending the concert being replayed was a way to relive cherished memories of school days, connecting with a significant part of both their past along with the band’s.

Those present for the replay also admitted of the joys of listening to Black Sabbath songs, but it was also about the atmosphere, the energy, and the sense of community that the concert provided among the like-minded, especially when Ozzy and his band had a long and impactful career in creating a genre – heavy metal – almost all on their own.

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and the eternally youthful Rolling stones

Let us also take a look at the ongoing ‘Got Back’ concert tour by former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney, who is aged 83. The tour started on April 28, 2022 at the Spokane Arena in Spokane, U.S., and is scheduled to end on November 25, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, U.S. This writer had confirmed tickets to attend McCartney’s concert as part of his “Freshen Up” tour at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on June 1, 2019 along with the air booking completed too.

However, the interview for the renewal of the U.S. visa was two months after the concert date and, alas, it was with much regret that the opportunity of seeing the artist performing live was missed. An occasion to make amends occurred with McCartney setting up dates to perform at London’s O2 on December 18 and 19, 2024 but, much like the demand for Coldplay tickets in India, the online booking sold out in half an hour!

Yes, with half the selections of McCartney’s set list featuring his songs with the Beatles, the concert would undoubtedly be replete with nostalgia and connections, evoking powerful memories and emotions from the past and with it, of course, bragging rights of attending a concert featuring a Beatle; call it a badge of honour, a story to tell, or just a memory to cherish, but these also are motivational factors for anyone to view McCartney live.

Nor is McCartney the only octogenarian Beatle out there, still performing live.

Fellow member Ringo Starr is not far behind, aged 85, touring with his All Starr Band in 2025, having performed a series of shows in the U.S. during June, with the next lot scheduled in September. The band line-up remains the same as in previous tours, featuring Toto’s Steve Lukather and Men At Work’s Colin Hay, among others.

The eternally youthful Rolling Stones – consisting of the band’s youngest member, Ronnie ‘Ron’ Wood, who turned 78 earlier this year, along with founder-members Mick Jagger, 82, and Keith Richards, who will turn 82 on December 18 – will, surprisingly, not be touring the world in 2025 as expectations were high for the band to do so following the release of their brilliant “Hackney Diamonds”, the band’s 24th studio album, in October 2023. The album featured contributions from McCartney, 78-year-old Elton John, who I saw at the Dubai Creek Golf Club on October 31, 2002 and 75-year-old Stevie Wonder.

I was in the UAE when the Rolling Stones performed in Mumbai on April 7, 2003 as part of their “40 Licks” world tour. It was the band’s second and final performance in India, following the first one held in Bangalore on April 4. It was a pity I missed the opportunity of witnessing them in my hometown Mumbai, inspite of the then managing director of Virgin Records (also known as EMI India), my former employers, having committed to providing VIP passes and an opportunity of a photo-op with the band members.

Happily, 11 years after returning to Mumbai by then, I then got an opportunity of seeing the band in 2014 (featuring original guitarist Mick Taylor, now aged 76) in, of all places, the UAE! It was certainly a moment to celebrate the passion of the band members, then with an average age of 70, still actively performing with an inherent source of continued musical inspiration, a celebration of human resilience, and the enduring power of their music itself.

Since that performance, drummer Charlie Watts – aged 80 – has passed away. Attending the Rolling Stones concert also provided a sense of community and belonging, allowing the younger fans to connect with those who had heard the Stones since their first album, jointly sharing their common love for the band’s music.

Many of them exchanged notes with me during the long and meandering lines for merch and during the sing-along of the band’s popular tracks encompassing 19 songs, including “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the inevitable, last song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”.

Similarly, let us consider the ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour’ (referred by media as part of the ongoing ‘Never Ending Tour’) by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, aged 84, in support of his 39th studio album, ‘Rough And Rowdy Ways’, which was released in 2020. The tour began in Milwaukee, U.S. on November 2, 2021 and momentarily ended on April 22, 2025 at the Journey Bank Community Arts Center, Williamsport, U.S.

The chance to see an artist who has been performing for 60+ years

This writer saw Dylan during the ‘Timbre Rock & Roots Festival’ organised in Singapore in 2011, fulfilling an opportunity of seeing a living legend although it was already difficult, even then, to comprehend his vocals, and mostly with his having given up playing the guitar for keyboards, allowing Dylan to rest while being seated on a stool throughout the concert.

The chance to see an artist who has been performing for 60+ years was a unique experience in itself as it is a testament to his dedication to continue touring, and a rare opportunity for fans to witness history in the making. In several cases, it might be one of the last chances of seeing a beloved artist perform live, making the experience even more significant.

In fact, Eric Clapton provides another Dylan connect. Clapton, who marked his 80th birthday earlier this year, was previously on a tour of Japan, the U.K. Italy, and France, and now has a limited run of U.S. tour dates scheduled in September, and is being supported by a band known as The Wallflowers, which features none other than one of Dylan’s sons, Jakob Dylan!

There really is no substitute to witnessing a legend,  a cultural icon really, and attending their concert is a chance to witness history. Clapton – who this writer saw live in 2007 and yet again in 2011, both shows having a separate set list and backing band – was certainly a significant moment to cherish for those fans who have admired the guitar virtuoso for years.

In fact, when Clapton headlined Day three of ‘British Summer Time: Hyde Park’ on July 8, 2018, a concert with an attendance in excess of 65,000 people, there were several attendees from India who travelled to see the show. With a clearcut mandate of witnessing an exceptional experience as the concert obviously offered an event that cannot be replicated by merely listening to an audio-visual recording accessible either on YouTube or through OTT services such as Stingray, a channel distributed by Amazon Prime, which is dedicated to concerts and rockumentaries, and irrespective of the quality of sound that may be obtained from utilising sophisticated music systems during streaming.

The energy of a live performance, interacting with the artist’s stage presence, and the shared involvement with other fans truly creates a unique and memorable event, and moments to cherish.

In fact, were it was not for these key factors, I would not have ventured into travelling in the midst of Covid, visiting the U.K. in March 2020 to witness The Who – featuring Pete Townshend, who is now 80, and Roger Daltrey, who is 81 – perform on March 16, at the Manchester Arena, with a firm sense of nostalgia, an inimitable adventure, and a connection to the band’s music that has resonated throughout  life.  However, as luck would have it, on March 12 on reaching London, the official message forwarded to ticket holders read that the March 16 concert at Manchester Arena, the concert that I was scheduled to attend, had been indefinitely postponed.

Besides the band’s longevity, The Who has always been an act to witness live, especially Townshend, the guitarist, known for his signature “windmill” guitar strum; a powerful, sweeping motion that Townshend uses to emphasise and add drama to the band’s performance, supported by Daltrey, the lead vocalist, known for his dynamic stage presence too, particularly his signature move of swinging the microphone by its cord.

This act is not just a visual flourish; it’s a performance element that has become synonymous with the band’s stage persona. Yes, The Who is indeed touring in 2025, naming their farewell tour as ‘The Song Is Over’, which will see the band perform across North America, beginning on August 16 in Sunrise, Florida, and concluding on September 28 in Las Vegas.

What is it that keeps these ageing rockers still active? On Ringo’s 85th birthday, the Beatles’ drummer came out bouncing and showing his trademark peace sign. McCartney can still draw huge audiences, as can the Stones, especially their front man Mick Jagger, who prances around on the stage looking as svelte as a 25 year old pop singer.

More interesting, what draws audiences, both young and old to these concerts? The youngsters, often accompanying their parents, also attending the concerts of these superstars of the past, to feel the energy and experience of a live concert remains distinctive.

Fans enjoy the atmosphere, the shared excitement with other attendees, and the opportunity of seeing and hearing their favourite songs performed in person. These “senior” artists have a wealth of experience and wisdom of performances spanning decades, which usually translates into events that may be generally low on visual effects, but certainly rich in depth and soul, even if energy levels of the artists may not be what they once were.

A draw that appeals across generations

But it’s also that the songs that were first released in the 1960s, ‘70s or ‘80s still have a draw that appeals across generations. There is a timeless appeal to songs like Get Back, or Like a Rolling Stone or Satisfaction and to be able to see them being performed by the original artiste is priceless.

In essence, attending concerts of older artists is often a confluence of a deep personal connection to the music, appreciation for the artists’ legacy, and the unique and powerful experience of a live performance. At the same time, as the artist’s age, as do fans, and there is always a belief that this might just be your last chance of ever witnessing the artist live or, as the case is, alive.

Case in point is witnessing Phil Collins performing live in Dubai in November 2005, not knowing then that, while drumming on the 2007 reunion tour for his band, Genesis, Collins would experience a dislocated vertebra in his neck causing nerve damage in his hands that prevented him from ever playing the drums again. In 2022, he announced a permanent retirement from the music industry.

Although ticket prices remain steep as they also become a kind of retirement plan for such artists who, no doubt, still want to indulge in the riches of their heydays, but what really remains remarkable is that most of them still have their concerts sell out within the hour because the larger part of the audience that the event caters to, seniors, no longer have constraints as far as purchasing power is concerned. But obtaining tickets, really, is the key to attendance…

For this writer as for many else, one supposes, supporting the artists as they achieve their respective twilights of their career is also a strong motivation for attending a concert, a manner of conveying admiration or simply saying “goodbye” by providing a fitting farewell for the joys provided by them from the past that continue to remain a present for the future!

Parag Kamani is a rock and pop music aficionado.

This article went live on August fourth, two thousand twenty five, at fifty-eight minutes past twelve at noon.

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