The Who’s First European Shows In Seven Years To Visit Barcelona, Berlin, Paris
‘It is wonderful that we can return to Europe after so long away,’ says Pete Townshend.
Tickets go on sale on Wednesday (14) for the first European dates in seven years by The Who. The three shows will take place next June in Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris, and will feature the band performing with a full orchestra each night.
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Music from all periods of the band’s nearly 60-year career will be featured, including sections from Tommy and Quadrophenia, other time-honored Who hits and songs from their highly successful 2019 album WHO. The new dates follow the two legs of the North American dates this year on The Who Hits Back! orchestral tour, which concluded on November 5 in Las Vegas. The majority of the orchestral arrangements on the dates were by the revered David Campbell.
Reviewing the Park MGM show in Las Vegas for vintagerock.com, Joe Schaeffer wrote of their concluding “Baba O’Riley”: “Katy Jacoby set her violin blazing while [Pete] Townshend was by her side, strumming along and windmilling his guitar. It was a fitting end to a two-hour journey with one of the most iconic bands in rock and roll history.”
The European dates will feature the full live band of guitarist/backing vocalist Simon Townshend, keyboardist Loren Gold, second keyboardist Emily Marshall, bassist Jon Button, drummer Zak Starkey, and backing vocals by Billy Nicholls, along with orchestra conductor Keith Levenson, lead violinist Katie Jacoby and lead cellist Audrey Snyder.
“It is wonderful that we can return to Europe after so long away,” says Townshend, “to play Berlin, Paris and Barcelona, three of my favourite cities in the world. We look forward to bringing our grand orchestral show which has received such great reviews so far and play some old-fashioned Who-style rock ’n’ roll songs from our back catalogue as well.
“We mix it all up in the most amazing evening of music: I have to say that this show is one that I personally enjoy as much as anything I have ever done in the 60 years I’ve been working with Roger. I so look forward to visiting these beautiful cities to see our old fans, and I hope we meet some new ones. We are so lucky to be able to spend an evening with you all.”
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The Who’s European dates for 2023 are:
Wednesday June 14: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
Tuesday June 20: Waldbühne, Berlin, Germany
Friday June 23: La Défense Arena, Paris, France
