Roger Daltrey’s “not trying to be The Who” on solo acoustic tour

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The Who‘s Roger Daltrey is getting ready to launch a solo acoustic tour, and while he’s not with bandmate Pete Townshend, Who fans can expect to hear plenty of songs they know and love.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer tells ABC Audio that while he’ll “play any Who song” on the tour, he prefers to pick ones “that have a resonance with things that are happening today.”

But those songs may sound a little different than what fans are accustomed to.

“It’s not trying to be The Who,” Roger says of his performances, noting with his current band he can have fun with “different interpretations” of classics like “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

“I can leave the big scream out. It doesn’t need it,” he says. “It makes you hear the song again for the first time if you play it with different instruments and it becomes something else, which is kind of interesting.”

Another thing he enjoys about these solo acoustic shows is, “I can hear myself,” adding that during most of his career with The Who, “I haven’t been able to hear myself at all.”

Roger turned 80 in March and you’d think he’d consider taking a break from the road, but there’s a good reason why he still goes out there.

“Well, it pays the rent,” he joked, before getting serious.  

“I’ve been given a gift, it will be criminal not to use it until it’s no good anymore and at the moment, it’s really, really good,” he says. “When it starts to go, I shall stop.” 

But for now, there’s no stopping Daltrey. His tour kicks off June 10 in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and runs through June 29 in Highland Park, Illinois. A complete list of dates can be found at thewho.com.

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