Roger Daltrey/Photo: Rick Kern
Roger Daltrey is one of the most distinctive and inimitable voices in rock. And fifty-nine years after the band he helped make famous released its debut single, Daltrey is playing shows in North America. His limited-run solo tour leg concludes with a June 29 concert at The Pavilion at Ravinia in Highland Park.
As lead singer for The Who, Daltrey sang the immortal line, “Hope I die before I get old” on the band’s 1965 single “My Generation.” His scream toward the end of the epic “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is one of the most powerful and visceral moments in music. And a generation too young to have experienced those songs on original release nonetheless came to recognize Daltrey’s extraordinary voice on “Who Are You,” the 1978 hit single that also served as the theme song for the long-running television series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”
The Who drummer Keith Moon passed in 1978; bassist John Entwistle died in 2002. But thank goodness neither Daltrey nor guitarist-songwriter Pete Townshend died before they got old; the current lineup of The Who completed its most recent run of tour dates last August. Townshend is currently busy with a number of endeavors; he plans to bring some long-gestating solo projects to fruition soon.
Meanwhile, Daltrey—who recently celebrated his eightieth birthday—has embarked on a tour of his own. Described as a “semi-acoustic” tour, this run of North American dates finds Daltrey reinterpreting songs from The Who (and from his own solo catalog of ten-plus albums) in a style that opens them up to rediscovery.
Despite advancing age and hearing problems, Daltrey simply can’t resist the call of the road. “I just love singing,” he says, noting that he began a short run of solo shows in 2022, just as soon as the post-pandemic world began to open up again.
Daltrey says that part of his motivation for the live dates is to secure work for some of his musician friends. “The pandemic was brutal on the music industry,” he emphasizes. “So I thought, ‘What more could I do than take as many musicians as I could afford to out on the road?’” His current road band includes names that will be familiar to fans of The Who and their orbit: pianist Geraint Watkins, Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother), Billy Nicholls on mandolin, percussionist Jody Linscott and others.
The lineup presents an opportunity to deliver subtly different readings of songs for which Daltrey is well-known. “I love Pete’s demos, the way he wrote his music, and the synthesizers and stuff,” he says. “But I also have this other side of me that can hear the songs done differently.” With a more acoustic-leaning approach to arrangements, Daltrey’s tour gives him a chance to make good on those desires. The instruments are completely different from the well-known studio versions, Daltrey says. “And there’s no synthesizers!”
He notes that audiences are very receptive to these reimagined songs from The Who and his solo catalog. “I can see the first five rows of my audience; huge smiles appear on their faces,” Daltrey says. “The songs sound similar but different. In some ways, we’re presenting them with the songs again for the first time.”
Daltrey is careful not to give too much away about the shows. “What I loathe about the modern world is that it’s so difficult now to surprise an audience,” he says. “In the old days, I used to go to shows to be surprised! So I’ve got a few still to add, which I’m holding onto.”
One wild card at Daltrey’s shows is the Q&A component. Between songs, he takes questions from the audience. One might think that after sixty years of recording sessions, concert tours and interviews, he would have fielded almost any question imaginable. Presenting him with an unexpected question would be challenging. “But I only answer the curveballs!” he says with a laugh.
Daltrey’s concert tour is neither a farewell run, a victory lap nor a vanity exercise. “Ultimately, it’s about giving people a really good night out,” he says. “The world is in such a miserable state; everywhere you look, there’s trouble. So let’s just have some fun.”
And Roger Daltrey is indeed having fun. “I look forward to every gig,” he says. “Here I am at eighty, playing shows, having a wonderful time with a bunch of fantastic musicians.” The octogenarian rocker promises that his singing voice is in peak form. “And I’m not blowing smoke up my own arse,” he insists. “Because I can’t blow that far!”
Roger Daltrey, with special guest KT Tunstall, performs on Saturday, June 29, at The Pavilion at Ravinia, 418 Sheridan Road, Highland Park. Gates at 5pm; concert at 7:30pm. Tickets are $62+, available here.
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. His more than 2,500 interviews, essays, and reviews reflect Bill’s keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill’s work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues, and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s final album. His first book, “Reinventing Pink Floyd,” is due from Rowman & Littlefield in February 2018.
