THE WHO
HITS 50!
50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR
LAUNCHES TO RAVE REVIEWS
NORTH AMERICAN SPRING LEG TO KICK OFF
APRIL 15 IN TAMPA, FL
SET LIST TO INCLUDE SONGS
FROM THE BAND’S ICONIC CAREER
TOUR LAUNCH VIDEO
INCLUDES BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT FIRST SHOWS
OF THE TOUR
“THE WHO HITS 50!” tour explosively kicked off in Glasgow, Scotland (11-30) to rave reviews and a set list that featured a wide range of songs (“Substitute,” “The Seeker,” “Join Together,” “Squeeze Box,” and “Magic Bus,” along with “The Kids Are Alright,” “I Can See For Miles,” “Who Are You,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” “You Better You Bet,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and “Pinball Wizard,” among others) from one of rock’s most legendary and defining bands. The first date on the year-long world tour–celebrating the band’s 50-year legacy–includes a month of U.K. dates in December, before coming stateside in April 2015. A behind-the-scenes look at the tour launch can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBn-Sn36-VM&feature=youtu.be
Here are some initial reviews from “THE WHO HITS 50!” tour kick-off:
“…their farewell tour finds them not only very much existing but also remaining the best live band in the world is nothing short of a miracle.”
—The Times (UK), 12-1-14 (Five star review)
“Over the two-and-a-half hour running time, those who packed the hall would have surely heard everything they came for from that extensive catalogue…the show skipped through eras, and it was the signature tracks which the group have been playing for decades which sounded most resolute and noisily pristine: a spine-tingling ‘Behind Blue Eyes’; the gripping, rocky epics ‘Who Are You’ and ‘The Seeker’; ‘Pinball Wizard’s frazzled energy giving way to the staunch ‘See Me, Feel Me’; ‘Baba O’Riley’ whipping the audience up to join in at full blast with its “teenage wasteland” refrain.”
—The Independent (UK), 12-1-14 (Four star review)
“In a show lasting more than two and a half hours, The Who defied the years to power through the highlights of their glorious back catalogue…
—Newcastle Chronicle (UK), 12-10-14 (Five star review)
“THE WHO HITS 50!” tour will kick off its spring run April 15 in Tampa, FL and include 20 stops throughout the east before wrapping May 30 in Forest Hills, NY. The fall leg will launch September 14 in San Diego, CA and begin with west coast dates throughout the U.S. and across Canada before concluding November 4 in Philadelphia, PA. Tickets are currently on sale at www.thewho.com. “THE WHO HITS 50!” tour is being presented by AEG Live.
The classic songs fans can expect to hear on “THE WHO HITS 50!” tour appear on the band’s just released WHO HITS 50! collection. Released October 27 on Geffen/Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), this definitive collection of THE WHO’s greatest tracks–from their very first recordings as The High Numbers right up to the present day with the brand new track “Be Lucky”–is being released to coincide with the band’s 50th anniversary tour.
THE WHO have sold over 100 million records since forming in 1964; they brought together four different personalities and in effect produced a musical hurricane. Each of them was a pioneer. Wildman drummer Keith Moon beat his kit with a chaotic elegance; stoic bassist John Entwistle held down the center with the melodic virtuosity of a solo guitarist; raging intellectual Pete Townshend punctuated the epic universality of his songs with the windmill slamming of his fingers across his guitar strings; and Roger Daltrey roared above it all with an impossibly virile macho swagger. They exploded conventional rhythm and blues structures, challenged pop music conventions, and redefined what was possible on stage, in the recording studio, and on vinyl. As they enter their 50th year, the band is still going strong, winning rave reviews for their performances of QUADROPHENIA in 2013.
THE WHO’s 2015 North American tour dates are as follows:
| DATE | CITY | VENUE | |
| 2015 Tour Dates – Leg 1 | |||
| Wed | 4/15 | Tampa, FL | Amalie Arena |
| Fri | 4/17 | Miami, FL | AmericanAirlines Arena |
| Sun | 4/19 | Jacksonville, FL | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena |
| Tue | 4/21 | Raleigh, NC | PNC Arena |
| Thu | 4/23 | Duluth, GA | The Arena at Gwinnett Center |
| Mon | 4/27 | Austin, TX | Frank Erwin Center |
| Wed | 4/29 | Houston, TX | Toyota Center |
| Sat | 5/2 | Dallas, TX | American Airlines Center |
| Tue | 5/5 | Kansas City, MO | Sprint Center |
| Thu | 5/7 | St. Louis, MO | Scottrade Center |
| Sat | 5/9 | Louisville, KY | KFC Yum! Arena |
| Mon | 5/11 | Nashville, TN | Bridgestone Arena |
| Wed | 5/13 | Chicago, IL | Allstate Arena |
| Fri | 5/15 | Columbus, OH | Nationwide Arena |
| Sun | 5/17 | Philadelphia, PA | Wells Fargo Center |
| Wed | 5/20 | Uniondale, NY | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| Fri | 5/22 | Atlantic City, NJ | Boardwalk Hall |
| Sun | 5/24 | Uncasville, CT | Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino – Sun Arena |
| Tue | 5/26 | Brooklyn, NY | Barclays Center |
| Sat | 5/30 | Forest Hills, NY | Forest Hills Stadium |
| 2015 Tour Dates – Leg 2 | |||
| Mon | 9/14 | San Diego, CA | Valley View Casino Center |
| Wed | 9/16 | Anaheim, CA | Honda Center |
| Sat | 9/19 | Las Vegas, NV | Colosseum at Caesars Palace |
| Mon | 9/21 | Los Angeles, CA | STAPLES Center |
| Wed | 9/23 | Oakland, CA | Oracle Arena |
| Fri | 9/25 | Portland, OR | Moda Center |
| Sun | 9/27 | Seattle, WA | KeyArena |
| Tue | 9/29 | Vancouver, BC | Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena |
| Thu | 10/1 | Calgary, AB | Scotiabank Saddledome |
| Sat | 10/3 | Edmonton, AB | Rexall Place |
| Tue | 10/6 | Saskatoon, SK | SaskTel Centre |
| Thu | 10/8 | Winnipeg, MB | MTS Centre |
| Sat | 10/10 | Minneapolis, MN | Target Center |
| Tue | 10/13 | Milwaukee, WI | BMO Harris Bradley Center |
| Thu | 10/15 | Chicago, IL | United Center |
| Sat | 10/17 | Detroit, MI | Joe Louis Arena |
| Mon | 10/19 | Toronto, ON | Air Canada Centre |
| Wed | 10/21 | Toronto, ON | Air Canada Centre |
| Fri | 10/23 | Pittsburgh, PA | CONSOL Energy Center |
| Sun | 10/25 | Newark, NJ | Prudential Center |
| Tue | 10/27 | New York, NY | Madison Square Garden |
| Thu | 10/29 | Boston, MA | TD Garden |
| Sun | 11/1 | Washington, DC | Verizon Center |
| Wed | 11/4 | Philadelphia, PA | Wells Fargo Center |
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ABOUT AEG LIVE
AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance. AEG Live is comprised of touring, festival and special event divisions, seventeen regional offices and owns, operates or exclusively books thirty-five state-of-the-art venues. The current and recent concert tour roster includes artists such as Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Bon Jovi, Carrie Underwood, Cher, Ed Sheeran, Enrique Iglesias, George Strait, Hunter Hayes, J Cole, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kenny Chesney, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Pitbull, Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, The WHO, Trey Songz and Juanes. The company is also currently producing residency shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas including Celine Dion, Shania Twain and Rod Stewart and is the exclusive promoter at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. AEG Live is also the largest producer of music festivals in North America from the critically acclaimed Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival to Stagecoach Country Music Festival and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. www.aeglive.com
