Rod Stewart: Six Decades of Hits, Hair and Hobby Trains

Let’s be honest: if rock ‘n’ roll had a raspy-voiced deity, it would be Sir Rod Stewart, the Brit whose voice sounds like gravel wrapped in silk. The man lives songs like “Maggie May,” co-wrote classics such as “Every Picture Tells a Story,” “Forever Young,” “You Wear It Well” and more, and has been a hitmaker for six decades. His catalog boasts hundreds of singles and album tracks across 32+ studio albums and while exact songwriting credits are complex (about 30+ songs he’s written or co-written appear in song lists), his influence as both performer and writer is enormous. He gave the world timeless tracks that still get blasted on classic rock radio everywhere.

He’s not just about music. Offstage, Rod’s a die-hard hobby train fanatic. Building one of the most intricate model railway layouts on the planet. His “Grand Street & Three Rivers Railroad” spans over 1,500 square feet and has been featured in model railroad magazines; he’s even been known to book extra hotel space on tour just to tinker with it between shows. This is no casual pastime dude spends hours every day soldering rails and crafting tiny cityscapes while most rock stars are sipping champagne.

Now 80 and still going strong, Rod’s on his “One Last Time” farewell tour, a career capper that’s selling out arenas with hits like “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”, “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” and “Young Turks” packed into one night of pure rock magic. In 2026 he hits Houston’s Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on April 19, giving Houston fans one last shot to see him belt out the classics live.

For a 45-year-old rock fan, there’s something pure and thrilling about Rod: he’s weathered every era of rock, adapted his sound\ and yet he never lost that cheeky swagger. He’s sold over 120 million records worldwide, snagged countless awards and stamped his personality, voice, style and genuine passion, onto the history of rock. Pop superstar? Sure, but he’s also one of the genre’s great storytellers, an old-school rock pilgrim who never forgot where he came from or how to enjoy life’s quirks, like tiny locomotives chugging through a backyard metropolis made of cardboard and dreams.