The Who set to end 5-year Las Vegas break
It has taken a while for The Who to hit back. But the legendary rock band is about to with its North American tour, and Las Vegas closes the show.
The Who Hits Back! tour ends at Dolby Live at Park MGM on Nov. 4-5, the band announced Monday morning on its official website. Tickets are on sale 10 a.m. Friday at LiveNation.com. The band was originally scheduled to perform at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for six shows in May 2020. Those dates were moved to the fall, then dropped altogether.
The Who most recently played Las Vegas, at Caesars, in August 2017. The tour, which features The Who’s core band and symphony players at each stop, is due to start April 22 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla.
Founding vocalist Roger Daltrey said he and guitar icon Pete Townshend are joined by guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother), keyboardist Loren Gold, second keyboardist Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr who has been known to branch out in Las Vegas), and backing vocals by Billy Nicholls. Additional artists orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, principal violinist Katie Jacoby and principal cellist Audrey Snyder.
Daltrey said he and Townshend have been eager to rock it once more for quite some time. This is their first tour since the 2019 “Moving On!” tour. Daltrey’s vocal problems and then the pandemic forced the rescheduling.
“Pete and I said we’d be back, but we didn’t think we’d have to wait for two years for the privilege. This is making the chance to perform feel even more special this time around,” Daltrey said in a statement. “So many livelihoods have been impacted due to Covid, so we are thrilled to get everyone back together – the band, the crew and the fans. We’re gearing up for a great show that hits back in the only way The Who know how. By giving it everything we’ve got.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
