It’s been more than a year since The Who last played a concert, but the legendary British rockers are preparing to hit the stage twice in the coming week, on Thursday, March 27, and Sunday, March 30. The shows are part of the 2025 Teenage Cancer Trust benefit concert series at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
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The Who’s only two performances last year also took place at the famous London venue during the 2024 edition of the charity series on place on March 18 and 20. Those concerts featured the band playing with an orchestra, something the group has done regularly since 2019. The Who’s longtime keyboard tech, Brian Kehew, meanwhile, has written a new blog in which he’s revealed that there are changes to the band’s touring lineup, and to the way the upcoming Teenage Cancer Trust shows will be presented.
“[The concerts] will also be a test-bed to see how we all do without that big orchestra that’s been following us around for half a decade now!” Kehew wrote. “It began with [frontman] Roger [Daltrey]’s solo Tommy tour in America in 2018. The Who followed with a 2019 tour … that has lasted since then. [F]ive years of the orchestral Who, but now we’re going stripped-back and leaner.”
Brian revealed that, besides Daltrey and co-founding guitarist Pete Townshend, the group’s lineup will feature drummer Zak Starkey, guitarist/backing singer Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, and bassist Jon Button, as well as newly added multi-instrumentalist John Hogg.
According to Kehew, not returning from the 2024 touring lineup are backing vocalist Billy Nicholls, music coordinator and conductor Keith Levenson, violinist Katie Jacoby, cellist Audrey Snyder, and keyboardist Emily Marshall.
How the Smaller Lineup Might Affect The Who’s Concert
Kehew noted that with the smaller lineup, there is “much discussion” about what songs to play in concert now. He pointed out that tunes like “Overture” from Tommy and “The Rock” from Quadrophenia are easier to play with an orchestra, while adding, “since there are approximately 200 [Who] songs, there are many options.”
In addition, Kehew maintained that with a smaller band, “there is also more opportunity for the looseness of earlier years (the orchestra required everyone to be on-the-page for setlist and structure/timing).”
He also reported, “There could be more jamming or improvisation, different acoustic material maybe. Both Roger and Peter have suggested trying out some interesting ideas—a few we’ve never before seen or heard onstage, and maybe a few unexpected older ones. Of course, the basic hits will always be in the set, and those milestones must be played, and will.”
Kehew listed a few other positive aspects of having a smaller group of performers and no orchestra. They include having more room onstage for the musicians, less setup time for the crew, the return of a large video screen behind the stage, and a less-complicated sound mix.
Kehew suggested that the 2025 Teenage Cancer Trust concerts may serve as a testing ground for future Who concerts.
“These shows may tell us what works in 2025, and if there’s a good future for other shows/tours or not,” he wrote. “[T]here are always many offers on the table, but touring is not as attractive as it once was. Maybe some of these proposed changes, and the smaller, looser version of the band will bring some new optimism and potential that we haven’t seen in the last five years. We’re hoping so, but the coming rehearsals will tell us.”
The Who’s Other 2025 Tour Plans
So far, The Who only have two other confirmed concerts lined up in 2025. Those shows are scheduled for July 20 in Padua, Italy, and July 22 in Milan, Italy.
It’s not clear if the band will play more concerts this year, although Townshend hinted as much during a November 2024 interview with U.K. newspaper The Telegraph. He said that The Who had “accepted an offer from Live Nation to do something in America” in 2025.
Daltrey’s 2025 Solo Tour Plans
Daltrey, meanwhile, has more than a dozen 2025 concerts scheduled with his solo band, all in the U.K.
Roger has a 10-date spring trek that runs from an April 20 show in Brighton, England, through a May 5 Performance in Cheltenham, England. Daltrey also has three additional U.K. concerts scheduled in late July and early August.
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