The Who are back on the boards tonight (March 25th) for their first concert since the pandemic hit. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend will front an acoustic band at London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the 2022 Teenage Cancer Trust concert.

The pair will be backed by Pete’s younger brother and longtime Who touring guitarist Simon Townshend, Phil Spalding, Jodie Linscott, Billy Nicholls, Geraint Watkins, Charlie Hart, and Andy Cutting.

In the announcement of the Royal Albert Hall gig, Roger Daltrey explained, “Live music has been hit arduous by the pandemic and it has been notably irritating for me that we haven’t been in a position to get artists on stage to lift cash for this vitally necessary trigger. But we haven’t given up. The Who will be back on stage this year at the hall alongside some wonderful talent. After the last two unbelievably difficult years, young people with cancer deserve everything we can do for them.”

FLASHBACK – 55 YEARS AGO TODAY

It was 55 years ago today (March 25th, 1967) that the Who made their U.S. live premiere. The band was booked to perform four mini-sets a day as part of New York disc jockey Murray The K‘s “Music In The Fifth Dimension” review at New York City’s RKO 58th Street Theater.

In addition to the Who and Cream, the nine-day stand included sets by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels, Wilson Pickett, along with single one-off performances by Phil Ochs, Simon & Garfunkel, the Blues Magoos, and the Young Rascals, among others.

  • The Who tour dates (subject to change):
    March 25 – London, England – Royal Albert Hall
    April 22 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Hard Rock  
    April 24 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
    April 27 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
    April 20 – New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Jazz Festival
    May 3 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX
    May 2 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
    May 8 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion  
    May 10 – Oklahoma City, TX – Paycom Center
    May 13 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
    May 15 – Cincinnati, OH – TQL Stadium  
    May 18 – Boston, MA – TD Garden  
    May 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center  
    May 23 – Washington, D.C. – Capital One Arena  
    May 26 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden  
    May 28 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center of the Arts  
    October 2 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena  
    October 4 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena  
    October 7 – Elmont, NY – UBS Arena  
    October 9 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
    October 12 – Chicago, IL – United Center
    October 14 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center  
    October 17 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena  
    October 20 – Portland, OR – Moda Center  
    October 22 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena  
    October 26 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center  
    October 28 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
    November 1 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl  
    November 4, 5 – Las Vegas, NV – Dolby Live

SIDE NOTES

  • The Who has released an updated version of 2019’s WHO album, which includes a seven-track bonus disc culled from the band’s February 14th, 2020 gig at the 2,000-capacity Pryzm in Kingston-Upon-Thames, England.
  • The tracklisting to the live, acoustic bonus disc is: Intro, “Substitute,” “Squeeze Box,” “Tattoo,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “Break The News,” “She Rocked My World,” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

CHECK IT OUT: The Who on February 12th, 2020 performing “Substitute” & “Pinball Wizard” live in London: