Mick Jagger said his job as a live performer is to make audiences “have the best time they possibly have,” the 82-year-old Rolling Stones frontman told The New York Times podcast “The Interview.”
Jagger said he does not want to “lecture” concertgoers, but he acknowledged he sometimes slips political lines into otherwise personal songs. “I’ve also got into this habit of doing songs that are about personal relationships, and then I throw a verse about politics in there,” he said, calling it a trick he learned from other songwriters.
Despite saying he aims to entertain, Jagger drew criticism in May 2024 when he called out Gov. Jeff Landry by name while performing at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. “I hope Mr. Landry is enjoying the show. He’s real inclusive you know. He’s trying to take us back to the Stone Age,” Jagger said at the festival.
Landry, a Republican, responded on X, posting, “You can’t always get what you want. The only person who might remember the Stone Age is Mick Jagger. Love you buddy, you’re always welcome in Louisiana! #LoveMyCountryMusic,” according to the social media post.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
