Photo courtesy of Roger Daltrey's Official Facebook Page
Singer Roger Daltrey will perform this week at MGM National Harbor.
Roger Daltrey spent six decades howling out rock anthems in arenas as the voice of The Who. Thursday night, he'll play a more intimate room just across the Potomac from Alexandria, and it may be one of the last chances to see him do it.
Daltrey brings his solo "A Great Night Out" tour to The Theater at MGM National Harbor on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 8 p.m. The special guest is singer-songwriter Amy Helm, daughter of the late Levon Helm, drummer and singer for The Band.
"One more for the road"
The tour comes on the heels of The Who's farewell run of North America, and Daltrey has hinted this could be his final solo trek in the United States as well. When he announced the dates in May, he called the tour "one more for the road" and said that after 17 years of solo touring with different bands, a less grueling life was starting to look appealing, though he'd see.
He also promised to skip the backing tracks. Daltrey is touring with the same hand-picked band that backed him on his 2024 tour. The nine musicians include guitarist Simon Townshend, brother of Daltrey's fellow Who co-founder Pete Townshend, along with violin, mandolin, harmonica and accordion.
The tour opened Aug. 23 at Mesa Arts Center in Arizona, and it wraps with shows Oct. 2 in Brookville, N.Y., and Oct. 3 at the Freeman Arts Center in Selbyville, Del.
What to expect
The concerts mix Daltrey's solo material, reworked covers and Who songs that rarely get played live. The format builds on his well-received semi-acoustic 2024 summer tour, which critics praised for its storytelling and loose, funny between-song banter.
Setlists so far have leaned eclectic. Shows have opened with Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door," followed by "Freedom Ride," a song Taj Mahal originally sang for the 1998 Largo project. Who favorites "Who Are You," "Squeeze Box" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" have also made the set, alongside Daltrey's solo hit "After the Fire" and covers of Leo Sayer and Paul Simon. At a show in California earlier this month, he closed with Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," which he said feels more relevant than ever.
He's also candid about being 82. At that same show, he warned the crowd he'd likely forget some lyrics, then did exactly that 20 seconds into a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover and started over. On opening night, he marked what would have been Who drummer Keith Moon's 80th birthday. Shows have been running about an hour and 45 minutes.
Sir Roger
The tour is Daltrey's first U.S. run since he was knighted by Prince William at Windsor Castle last December for his contributions to charity and music. Much of that charity work has gone to young cancer patients. Daltrey launched and curated the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall, which have raised millions for the charity over 25 years.
Washington has honored him before. Daltrey and Townshend received Kennedy Center Honors in 2008. The Who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
If you go
- When: Thursday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m.
- Where: The Theater at MGM National Harbor, 101 MGM National Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.
- Opener: Amy Helm
- Tickets: Seats start at about $40 each, including fees, through Ticketmaster. Prices change with demand.
- Getting there from Alexandria: National Harbor is a short drive over the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. You can bypass the $15 parking fee by joining MGM Rewards for free.
