Roger Daltrey announces “Tommy” tour with orchestra

Roger Daltrey announced a 12-date U.S. tour that he will perform only the Who’s rock opera Tommy with a local orchestra at each venue. The tour will also include a full electric band.

See the dates below:

Jun. 8 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts with Hudson Valley Philharmonic

Jun. 10 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap with Wolf Trap Orchestra

Jun. 12 – Vienna, VA @ Wolf Trap with Wolf Trap Orchestra

Jun. 15 – Lenox, MA @ Tanglewood with Boston Pops Orchestra

Jun. 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Center for the Performing Arts with Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

Jun. 23 – Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia with Ravinia Festival Orchestra

Jun. 25 – Highland Park, IL @ Ravinia with Ravinia Festival Orchestra

Jun. 27 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater with Nashville Symphony Orchestra

Jun. 30 – Canandaigua, NY @ CMAC (orchestra TBA)

Jul. 2 – Kettering, OH @ Fraze Pavilion with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

Jul. 5 – Rochester Hills, MI @ Meadowbrook Amphitheatre with Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Jul. 8 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center with The Cleveland Orchestra

Read what Daltrey said about the tour:

“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. 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.”

Tommy, the story of the titular “deaf, dumb and blind kid,” was originally released as a double album by the Who in 1969 and went on to become an opera in 1971, an orchestral piece in 1972, a movie in 1975 and a Broadway musical in 1992. In October 2017, the Who released a live version of the full album that was recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier in the year.

Autobiography

Daltrey said that his autobiography would be published in August 2018. “It’s about getting an angle that carries the reader with you,” he said. “You can’t do just a series of events. Most of the rock biographies that I’ve read, I kind of got bored with about halfway to two-thirds of the way through. I hope not to fall into that trap.”