The band also adds an extra show due to demand
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Who have confirmed a powerful lineup of special guests set to join them on their final North American run, The Song Is Over Tour. Artists including Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters, Billy Idol, Booker T. Jones, Candlebox, Feist, Joe Bonamassa, The Joe Perry Project (Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Buck Johnson, Chris Robinson, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz), Tom Cochrane, and ZZ Ward will appear across various stops on the historic farewell tour.
Additionally, The Who has added a second night in Chicago, IL—Tuesday, September 9th at United Center—due to incredible fan demand. Joe Bonamassa will support both Chicago dates.
The Song Is Over marks a bittersweet goodbye for one of rock’s most enduring and influential acts, celebrating nearly six decades of groundbreaking music. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend announced the tour during a live press conference from London’s Iconic Images gallery, where they also unveiled a rare piece of memorabilia: the American football helmet from their 1974 album Odds & Sods, from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Presales for the newly added Chicago show will start tomorrow (Tues, May 20th) ahead of the general sale on Friday, May 23rd at 10 am local time. The tour will also offer a variety of VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, access to pre-show soundcheck, invitation to the pre-show VIP Lounge, a limited edition autographed tour poster & more. VIP package contents vary based on the offer selected.
Yesterday (Sun, May 18th), it was announced that the band fired longtime drummer Zak Starkey for the second time within a month. They have replaced Starkey with Scott Devours, who plays in Roger Daltrey’s solo band.
“The Who are heading for retirement, whereas Zak is 20 years younger and has a great future with his new band and other exciting projects. He needs to devote all his energy into making it all a success . We both wish him all the luck in the world,” the band said in a joint statement. “Scott Devours – Who fans will know him from Roger’s solo shows – will be replacing Zak. We hope all our fans will welcome him.”
Starkey disagrees with the firing and shared his own statement, “I was fired two weeks after reinstatement and asked to make a statement saying I had quit the who to pursue my other musical endeavors this would be a lie,” he states on Instagram. “I love The Who and would never had quit. So I didn’t make the statement ….quitting The Who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me (thank you all a million times over and more) thru the weeks of mayhem of me going ‘in an out an in an out an in an out like a bleedin squeezebox.'”
The Who continued to thrill US fans throughout the 1970s before undertaking their first “farewell” tour in 1982, which featured two shows at the legendary Shea Stadium in New York. When the band returned to the road in the late 1990s and early 2000s perhaps one of their greatest performances was at The Concert For New York City at Madison Square Garden shortly after the terror attack of 9/11, their three-song set in front of emergency workers and first responders was met with a primal roar from an audience. When Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey were given the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2008 for their contributions to American culture, a tribute performance of “Baba O’Riley” was delivered with a full choir of New York firefighters in gratitude for The Who’s performance at the show.
