Keith Richards and X-Pensive Winos performed on stage again for the first time in almost 30 years.
Fans at the Beacon Theatre in New York City witnessed the highly-anticipated reunion between his solo backing band during the annual charity concert, Love Rocks NYC.
Richards met the three of the four surviving members of X-Pensive Winos at the event - drummer Steve Jordan, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, and Ivan Neville. The band's singer, Sarah Dash, died in September 2021, while bassist Charley Drayton is currently part of Bob Dylan's "Rough and Rowdy Ways" tour.
The Rolling Stone guitarist expressed how much he missed performing with them. When Laurence Fishburne introduced the two acts, Richards took his time to speak about his love for blues and how his band introduced him to several notable musicians like Little Walter, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters, among others.
"It just really kind of connected me to something," he said. "This blues music, it really is everybody's music. Everybody gets the blues, man. Everybody. There are a lot of people in the world out there suffering. We're going to kick it off."
Richards and The X-Pensive Winos started their performance with "999" from the 1992 LP, "Main Offender," and followed it with "You Got the Silver," "Let It Bleed," and "Some Girls."
Although their Love Rocks reunion served as their first performance in 30 years, they played together previously at the Apollo Theater's Great Night in Harlem Benefit in 2015.
Keith Richards, The X-Pensive Winos a Perfect Combination
Before standing in one stage again, Richards spoke candidly about the group and applauded the members for being incredibly versatile.
"I could switch or they would switch themselves - only Waddy and I stayed with guitars, everybody else was going 'All right, I'll play the bass, you play the drums' ... and sort it out. I was amazed by the versatility of these men," he told Goldmine.
Richards also told the news outlet that The X-Pensive Winos became the best band he ever played with on a solo tour. According to the musician, he got so much out of working with the Winos before showering the members with heartfelt compliments.
For instance, he called Drayton an incredible bass player and drummer. She also agreed that Dash had an unbelievable range despite having a cold the night before recording something.
His decades-old of career led him to earn a nickname from Rolling Stone, calling him the "creator of rock's greatest single body of riffs" on guitar. He also ranked fourth on its list of the top 100 best guitarists.
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