Rolling Stones announce new album

The Rolling Stones are doing the rare thing older legacy bands almost never pull off — making “new album” news feel like actual news. On May 5, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood used a Brooklyn launch event with Conan O’Brien to announce *Foreign Tongues*, a new studio album due July 10. That matters because this is not a vault release, a tour tie-in, or another anniversary repackaging. It is a proper follow-up to *Hackney Diamonds*, which already reset expectations for what a Stones late period could look like. ### What did they actually announce? They announced a 14-track studio album called *Foreign Tongues*, coming out July 10 on Capitol. The reveal happened at The Weylin in Brooklyn, where the band sat down with Conan O’Brien and treated the launch like an event, not just a press release. That staging is part of the message — the Stones want this to land as a full new era. ### Why does this feel bigger than a routine release? Because the Stones already had their “comeback album” moment. *Hackney Diamonds* in 2023 was the one framed as the return — their first album of new original material in 18 years. A second new studio album this soon changes the story. Basically, it suggests the band is not just revisiting the studio for one last lap. They may actually be in a productive stretch again. ### Who’s on the record? The guest list is part of the pitch. Reports from the launch say the album includes Paul McCartney, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Steve Winwood, and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. It also includes a contribution from Charlie Watts, drawn from one of his final recording sessions before his death. That gives the classic Stones lineup on the other. ### What’s the first music from it? The rollout appears to center on “In the Stars” as the lead single. Another song, “Rough and Twisted,” had already circulated in a more cryptic way through a limited white-label vinyl release under the name the Cockroaches before being folded into this album campaign. That is a very un-streaming-era move, but it fits the Stones — part prank, part collector bait, part mythology machine. ### Why Conan O’Brien? Because the band wanted the launch to feel playful instead of ceremonial. O’Brien gives them a smart, unserious frame — more conversation, less coronation. That tone matters for a band this established. If they present every new release as a monument, it risks feeling embalmed. If they present it as a live, funny, slightly chaotic. The event was staged, but it fits the band’s approach. ### Are they touring this too? That part is still fuzzy. The official tour page does not show a 2026 run tied to the album. One music report says touring remains an open question and notes earlier chatter that possible 2026 dates had been dropped. So the album is real and dated. The tour, at least right now, is not. They live on reissues, documentaries, and prestige. The Stones are still doing that, sure — but they are also adding new work to the pile. That is the bigger story here. *Foreign Tongues* is not important just because it exists. It is important because it follows another recent original album fast enough to make “late-career pattern. ### Bottom line The news is simple: the Rolling Stones have a new album, *Foreign Tongues*, coming July 10. But the real point is what that says about the band in 2026 — they are still acting like a current rock group, not just a historic one.