The Who Opens North American Tour 2022 In Hollywood, Florida

The Who began their 2022 North American Tour last Friday (April 22) with an opening night concert at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. The show was the legendary band’s first proper performance since February 2020.

Co-founding members, frontman Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend, are joined on the tour by a band rounded out by guitarist/vocalist Simon Townshend, keyboardists Loren Gold and Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey and backing vocalist Billy Nicholls. The orchestra was conducted by Keith Levenson and joined by lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder.

The concert consisted of an opening set with the orchestral accompaniment, a band-only set, and another set with the orchestra. The show began with a string of six selections from their 1969 album Tommy, “Overture,” “1921,” “Amazing Journey,” “Sparks,” “Pinball Wizard” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The initial orchestra set also saw takes on classics “Who Are You,” “Eminence Front” and “Join Together.”

The second set saw the band, sans orchestra, kick things off with “Substitute.” They then worked through “The Seeker,” “I Can See For Miles” and “The Kids Are Alright,” before the stage was left to just Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend for an acoustic offering of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Jacoby and Snyder emerged with the rest of the band to close set two with “Behind Blue Eyes.”

Two songs from The Who’s 2019’s studio album, Who, were also worked into Friday’s setlist as “Hero Ground Zero” was played in the first set and “Ball and Chain” opened the third frame with the backing of the orchestra. The rest of the orchestra-supported third set included a Quadrophenia sequence made up of “The Real Me,” “I’m One,” “5:15,” “The Rock” and “Love, Reign O’er Me.”

Opening night ended with Jacoby taking the spotlight for the show-closing rendition of “Baba O’Reily,” The Who continued their tour through Florida with a performance on Sunday in Jacksonville. The band heads to Tampa after that.

View audience-captured video footage from Friday’s The Who concert in Hollywood, Florida, below: