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The Rolling Stones in Spielberg 2017 prove that getting to a concert can sometimes feel like a separate endurance event. Nearly 95,000 fans descend on the Red Bull Ring, battling traffic, delayed trains, muddy fields and weather that apparently wants a piece of the action. Then Mick Jagger says “Hallo Oisterrach,” Keith Richards brandishes his curious voodoo stick, and suddenly everyone seems to have forgotten the journey from hell. With Sympathy For The Devil opening the show, the Stones turn a soggy Austrian evening into something considerably louder. Because apparently buying a concert ticket also occasionally means purchasing a minor transportation nightmare.
September 16, 2017: Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria Sympathy For The Devil/It’s Only Rock’n Roll/Tumbling Dice/Just Your Fool/Ride ‘Em On Down/Under My Thumb/She’s A Rainbow/You Can’t Always Get What You Want/Paint It Black/Miss You/Band introduction/Happy/Slipping Away/Midnight Rambler/Honky Tonk Women/Street Fighting Man/Start Me Up/Brown Sugar/Satisfaction/Gimme Shelter/Jumping Jack Flash *All photos from the IORR site
A Wild Night in Spielberg
The Rolling Stones turned Spielberg into a mud-splattered rock carnival during their No Filter tour stop in 2017. Despite clogged highways, delayed trains, and fields that swallowed shoes whole, 95,000 fans showed up ready to move. By the time Mick Jagger greeted the crowd with a cheeky “Hallo Oisterrach,” the weather had cleared—some swore Keith Richards’ trusty voodoo stick chased the rain away just like it had at the Hamburg opener.
At 8:40 p.m. flames erupted across massive LED walls as Sympathy For The Devilkicked off the night. Four towering screens magnified the swagger, and soon the entire stadium became one giant choir of raised hands. While the average fan age hovered around 40, the mix leaned surprisingly young—proof that the Stones’ pull stretches across generations.
Mud, Music and Mayhem
Getting to Spielberg was half the adventure. Nearly 17,000 cars and 350 buses funneled in, along with special trains that ran late thanks to stormy conditions. Police turned to Twitter, cleverly riffing on Stones lyrics to update anxious travelers. Patience, as it turned out, was the evening’s secret headliner—both on arrival and during the long crawl home.
The massive crowd also meant some bumps along the way. A few drunken scuffles and minor drug busts were logged, but considering the scale, incidents were minimal. Fans were more likely to gripe later online about narrow paths, weak signage, or the endless wait for shuttle buses. For older visitors, slippery walkways became a real struggle, though plenty of strangers offered a hand—turning inconvenience into a display of solidarity.
By the time the last riff echoed into the Styrian night, Spielberg had witnessed exactly what makes the Stones unstoppable: chaos, charisma, and a rock ’n’ roll spirit that refuses to fade.
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