Features
Who’s Touring
The classic rockers are booked for the U.K.’s Isle of Wight Festival June 12. Come late July, they’ll be playing the Yokohama and Osaka Festivals in Japan, before heading downunder for a string of Australian arena gigs.
The band has not played in Australia in more than 35 years. During their 1968 tour with Small Faces, they were arrested after an airline pilot complained of misbehavior by the group and their entourage. Then-Prime Minister John Gorton asked the band not to return to the continent and the band promised they never would.
Time heals all wounds, evidently, and they’ll follow the Aussie stint with two California gigs – August 7 at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre and August 9 at the Hollywood Bowl. No word yet on whether these dates are the beginning of a larger U.S. tour.
The band features original members Roger Daltrey (vocals) and Pete Townshend (guitar), along with Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey on drums. Pino Palladino played bass on the band’s 2002 tour, but it is unclear who will be filling the late John Entwistle’s shoes this summer.