The Who Sets Farewell Tour — Again

The Who are saying goodbye. The rock band announced on Thursday that they’ve set their final North American tour, titled the Song Is Over Tour, after their 1971 song. The band calls it the “grand finale of their illustrious six-decade career.”

The Song Is Over Tour will kick off in Sunrise, Florida on Aug. 16, taking them across the country in stops including Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles, before the tour ends on Sept. 28 in Las Vegas. So far the band hasn’t revealed dates outside of North America. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, May 16 at 10 a.m. local time.

This of course isn’t The Who’s first farewell tour, as the band first said goodbye 1982. They also had their 50th anniversary tour in 2015 and played dozens of shows in 2019.

“Every musician’s dream in the early 60’s was to make it big in the US charts. For the Who, that dream came true in 1967 and our lives were changed forever,” Roger Daltrey said. “The warmth of the American audiences over the years have been inspirational to me, and reflect the feeling I remember getting after hearing the first rock records coming across the radio. Musical freedom!  Rock gave us a feeling of generational rebellion. To me, America has always been great. The cultural differences had a huge impact on me, this was the land of the possible. It’s not easy to end the big part of my life that touring with The Who has been. Thanks for being there for us and look forward to seeing you one last time.”

As Pete Townshend added: “All good things must come to an end. It is a poignant time … Today, Roger and I still carry the banner for the late Keith Moon and John Entwistle and of course, all of our longtime Who fans. I must say that although the road has not always been enjoyable for me, it is usually easy: the best job I could ever have had.”

Last month, The Who had another shakeup when they briefly parted ways with their drummer, Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr. The separation only lasted a few days, however, with Townshend saying that “there have been some communication issues, personal and private on all sides, that needed to be dealt with, and these have been aired happily.”