Roger Daltrey To Take ‘Tommy’ On A Ten-City Run

courtesy of The Who – Roger Daltrey
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Featuring major city orchestras plus musicians who play with The Who, Roger Daltrey will hit a solo trail with rock’s famous story about the deaf, dumb and blind child who grows up to become a pop culture messiah.

Released in 1969 to worldwide acclaim, Tommy has had its share of productions, including a run on Broadway as well as the 1975 film featuring Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed with Daltrey playing the title role.

The Who has played Tommy through the years and the band featured a start-to-finish performance of the album / rock opera during a 1989 tour.

But not all of the songs on the album found their way to live performances.  In fact, it wasn’t until 2017 at the Teenage Cancer Trust event at London’s Royal Albert Hall that The Who played every track from the L.P. 

For the June-July adventure Daltrey will be backed by many of the same musicians that you’ve seen working with The Who.  The lineup includes guitarist/backup singer Simon Townshend, guitarist Frank Simes, keyboardist Loren Gold, bassist Jon Button and drummer Scott Devours.

The full orchestras joining Daltrey include Hudson Valley Philharmonic when the tour opens in Bethel, N.Y.; Boston Pops Orchestra in Beantown and The Cleveland Orchestra when the tour wraps at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

“I’m really looking forward to singing Tommy, not only with my great backing group, but also some of the finest orchestras in the country,” Daltrey said in a statement.  Pete Townshend’s rock music is particularly suited to being embellished by the sounds that an orchestra can add to the band.  With the arrangements written by David Campbell, it should make a memorable night of entertainment for all those who love the arts.”

Daltrey’s last extensive non-Who tour of North America took place in 2011.  Pollstar’s box office stats for the outing revealed an average of 3,063 tickets sold nightly, resulting in more than 61,000 tickets sold for the entire tour.  Daltrey finished with a total gross just over $4.8 million.

Presales and general onsales begin this week.  Keep checking Pollstar’s Roger Daltrey page for further developments.