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 9 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.
Tickets for the newly added Chicago show will be available starting with a Citi presale and through the Who Fan Club (details below) beginning on Tuesday, May 20. Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general onsale beginning on Friday, May 23 at 10:00 AM local time at thewho.com/tour/. All other shows are on sale now at thewho.com/tour/.
Citi is the official card of The Who – The Song Is Over – North American Farewell Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets in the US beginning Tuesday, May 13 at 10 AM, local time until Thursday, May 15 at 10 PM, local time through the Citi Entertainment program. For complete presale details, visit here.
Join the Whooligan Fan Club exclusively here to receive early ticket access, exclusive Whooligan merchandise, and a copy of the previously unreleased album, Live At The Oval 1971, one of The Who’s most legendary shows, which has been newly mixed and mastered from the original tapes.
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. For more information, visit vipnation.com.
One of popular music’s most influential and resilient pairings, Pete and Roger have rewritten the rulebook on what it means to be a world-changing live act throughout a sea of seismic shifts that would have put any other rock dyad on the mat. Townshend has commented on their high-performance standard, which has “risen out of the ashes of the halcyon years of rock ‘n’ roll.” That’s why it’s no surprise they’ve stacked some of the best reviews of any performing artists in the past decade. Variety raved “rock ’n’ roll’s greatest achievement…” about their previous American tour; evidence of their incredible staying power and a testament to an unparalleled repertoire of songs written by Townshend and sung by Daltrey with an attention to detail unmatched in the rock era.
Fans and critics continue to hail Pete and Roger’s ability to play the long game in music with passion and integrity like few before them. The historic 2025 The Song Is Over tour will mark the final face-to-face celebration of this timeless connection with North American Who fans, forever appreciative of the band’s ability to dispense with nostalgia and deliver authentic rock moments time and time again.
Further proof that the duo is still at the top of their game could be gleaned in a 2024 review of their performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust’s historic annual concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, honoring the work of its founder, Roger Daltrey, who stepped down from his curatorial role after 24 years. One reviewer of the Who’s performance called it: “One of the most joyous bombastic concerts London’s magnificent Royal Albert Hall has ever seen…”
America’s love affair with The Who live began 58 years ago when the band were part of ‘Murray The K’s Music in the Fifth Dimension’, a series of showcase events at RKO’s 58th Street Theatre in New York over nine days in March and April 1967. The band played just three songs (“Can’t Explain”, “Substitute”, “My Generation”), and other acts on the bill included Cream, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Wilson Pickett. Later that Summer, it was at the seminal Monterey International Pop Festival in California that they rose to prominence in a defining moment of the Summer Of Love. Two years later, The Who were once again front and center at the most famous festival of the ’60s, Woodstock, performing an incendiary set in the early hours of August 17th, 1969.
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.
Tour dates:
August
16 – Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena =
19 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center =
21 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center ^
23 – Atlantic City, NJ – Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall +
26 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park ~
28 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater $
30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden $
September
2 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage >
4 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage >
7 – Chicago, IL – United Center <
9 – Chicago, IL – United Center <
17 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl ~
19 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
21 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre #
23 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena #
25 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena #
28 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena !
=with Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters
^with ZZ Ward
+with Booker T. Jones
~with The Joe Perry Project
$with Feist
>with Tom Cochrane
<with Joe Bonamassa
#with Candlebox
!with Billy Idol
The Who will release, Live At The Oval 1971, as part of the Whooligan Fan Club exclusively here, fans will receive early ticket access, exclusive Whooligan merchandise and a copy of Live At The Oval 1971!
On August 22, Live At The Oval 1971 will be available on all DSPs, CD, Atmos, and 2LP 180g Black Vinyl, and limited edition 2LP Sea Blue & Red Hot Color Swirl & Splatter Vinyl. Fans may now pre-order Live At The Oval 1971 on The Who’s official store here; available for pre-order at all retailers June 13.
Live At The Oval 1971 is the first-ever official recording of The Who’s sought-after set at Goodbye Summer: A Rock Concert in aid of Famine Relief for the People of Bangla Desh. The band notably headlined The Oval cricket ground in Kennington, South London on September 18, 1971 for this benefit. During the show, the band—Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon—performed a robust 15-song setlist highlighted staples such as “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Pinball Wizard,” and more for an audience of 35,000-plus.
Previously only available as a poor-quality bootleg, this legendary show has never received an official release until now. Live At The Oval 1971 was newly mixed from the original 8-track analog multi-track tapes. Setting the scene, The Who had just released Who’s Next a month prior on August 2, 1971, and played five songs from the latter at The Oval. Renowned for their unpredictable and unforgettable performances, it concludes with Townshend and Moon smashing their equipment.
Tracklisting:
CD
“So Glad To See Ya”
“Summertime Blues”
“My Wife”
“Love Ain’t For Keeping”
“I Can’t Explain”
“Substitute”
“Bargain”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”
“Baby Don’t You Do It”
“Pinball Wizard”
“See Me, Feel Me” / “Listening To You”
“My Generation”
“Naked Eye”
“Magic Bus”
2LP
LP1 – Side A
“So Glad To See Ya”
“Summertime Blues”
“My Wife”
“Love Ain’t For Keeping”
“I Can’t Explain”
“Substitute”
LP1 – Side B
“Bargain”
“Behind Blue Eyes”
“Won’t Get Fooled Again”
LP2 – Side C
“Baby Don’t You Do It”
“Pinball Wizard”
“See Me, Feel Me” / “Listening To You”
LP2 – Side D
“My Generation”
“Naked Eye”
“Magic Bus”
