Shine a Light is a 2008 concert film directed by Martin Scorsese documenting the Rolling Stones' 2006 Beacon Theatre performances during their A Bigger Bang Tour.
The concert footage is preceded by a brief semi-fictionalized introduction about the preparations for the shows, and is intercut with historical news clips and archival interviews with band members.
The shows, which were added to the tour schedule for the purposes of the film shoot, featured a different set list than was typical of other shows on the tour (see below), and were noted for their star-studded crowds, including former United States President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, who was then a United States senator, and former President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski.
Prior to the October 29 show, 83-year-old Ahmet Ertegun, a co-founder and executive of Atlantic Records and chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum, was backstage in a VIP social area, the "Rattlesnake Inn," when he tripped and fell, striking his head on the concrete floor.
According to keyboardist Chuck Leavell's tour diary, Mick Jagger had been ill with throat problems, forcing a postponement of the Stones scheduled Atlantic City concert and the October 31 Beacon Theatre show was moved to November 1, to allow Jagger to recuperate.
The website's consensus reads: "It may offer little new for fans, but Martin Scorsese's document of the Rolling Stones' electrifying live show should provide satisfaction to audiences.
[15] The Telegraph considered Shine a Light to be "Scorsese's tribute to the music that has shaped his career", noting its departure from the "trappings" of traditional documentary filmmaking to instead focus on capturing "the essence of the Rolling Stones, namely, their live performance."