The Rolling Stones Playing a Free Concert in Havana

The Rolling Stones, easily the biggest-ticket rock band (still) going today, have announced they will put on a free concert in Havana, Cuba on March 25.

According to the news at The Hollywood Reporter, “the Stones will play in Havana’s Ciudad Deportiva three days after President Barack Obama visits Havana.” This concert is expected to draw an incredibly large audience since Havana – and Cuba overall – hasn’t had much of a rock and roll influx. Young Cubans were persecuted regularly for listening to rock music, with officials claiming it was nothing more than a tool of Western ideology.

Cubans also have been economically crippled for decades now under Communist control, so the idea that The Rolling Stones would play in Havana immediately raised questions about ticket prices, as the band is the most expensive ticket in rock. Luckily for the Cuban community, The Stones have announced the show will indeed be free.

The Rolling Stones delivered their own statement about the free concert:

“We have performed in many special places during our long career but this show in Havana is going to be a landmark event for us, and, we hope, for all our friends in Cuba too.”