Staying 'Forever Young'

At age 60, legendary rocker Rod Stewart continues to captivate audiences with energized shows

By JENNA NIELSEN

Known as much for his loud costumes as hit songs, legendary musician Rod Stewart rocked the Save Mart Center on Tuesday night.

The 60-year-old rocker performed new and old hits to a crowd of young and old people.

“He’s an idol to a lot of people,” said Derek Aulach, 20. “He is a famous artist and I came to see him, because I like a wide variety of music.”

Krystal Sirkin, a 20-year-old Fresno State student majoring in political science said, “I actually have never seen Rod Stewart, but I came because my dad gave us free tickets and I wanted to experience something different.”

Stewart performed to a near-capacity crowd on an elaborate stage, which had rows of white speakers and three huge screens that gave the audience a larger view and showed a montage of his more-than-30-year music career.

Stewart’s energy radiated from the stage and the audience went wild after he opened with his hit single “Forever Young.” Most fans were on their feet and singing along to the pumped-up Stewart.

The stage was a sea of white throughout the first song and turned into a colorful light display when Stewart started his second song.

Director of publicity Vanessa Kromer said Stewart starts the show with classic hits and uses the second half to perform songs from his “The Great American Songbook” series.

Even at 60, Stewart continues to appeal to new fans.

Stewarts career spans four decades. He started in the 1960s touring with a folk singer, then sang and played harmonica for a rhythm and blues band. He rose to fame in the 1970s when he fronted the rock band The Faces. He began his solo career soon after, becoming an iconic pop star in the mid-1970s after releasing his hit song “Maggie May.”