Although it has been all but confirmed since last week, the Rolling Stones have officially announced this morning that they will be heading to North America as part of their 50 And Counting tour along with an additional date in the UK.

The announcement culminated a week’s worth of teasers by the Rolling Stones that included billboards featuring snippets of the band’s lyrics along with non-specific videos and other clues.

Interestingly enough, the North American tour will include nine dates and not the initial 18 that was rumored. The tour is set to launch at the Los Angeles Staples Center.

The exact date for the Los Angeles gig is yet to be announced due to the NBA/NHL playoff schedules. The trek will also feature stops in Oakland, San Jose, Las Vegas, Anaheim, Toronto, Chicago, Boston and Philidelphia.

Across the pond, band will play London's Hyde Park on July 6, almost 44 years to the day of their first show at the Royal Park. The show follows a headlining appearance at UK's Glastonbury Festival on June 29.

The band lineup for the tour will include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood and former member Mick Taylor, who played guitar in the band from 1969-1974 (including the albums Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main Street) will be a guest throughout the tour.

"'50 AND COUNTING' has been pretty amazing so far," said Jagger. "We did a few shows in London and New York last year...and had such a good time that we thought...let's do some more. It's a good show. Lots of the classic stuff everyone wants to hear...with a few little gems tucked in here and there. The stage is shaped like lips and goes off into the venue so I get to run around in the crowd. It's great fun to be able to get that close to the audience."

"From day one at rehearsals it sounded so fresh. You could tell that everybody was dying to get their teeth into it. It was like...open the gates...let us out!" said Richards. "Cause man, it is the life and blood of us to play in front of people."

Here are the  “50 And Counting" North American Tour Dates:

 

TBA Los Angeles Staples Center

May 5 Oakland Oracle Arena

May 8 San Jose HP Pavilion

May 11 Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena 

May 15 Anaheim Honda Center

May 25 Toronto Air Canada Centre

May 28 Chicago United Center

June 12 Boston TD Garden

June 18 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center


You can check out the official video announcement below.