You read that right, I shook hands with Roger Daltry, the founding member of The Who…my favorite band of all time, “ever since I was a young boy”. Here’s the backstory.
DaK, my brother and sister-in-law all attended the North American Roger Daltrey Tour 2024 at Meadow Brook Music Amphitheater in Rochester, MI on June 25th. Although I have attended many Who concerts it was everyone’s first Roger Daltrey concert.
The day before the concert my brother and sister-in-law met at the Royal Park Hotel restaurant in Rochester for a late evening snack as we had a hunch that Roger was going to stay there. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to someday meet Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend in person. Well, with some persistence and luck, half of that dream was realized as around 8:00 pm, the evening before the concert, as we saw Roger Daltrey with some of his band members enjoying an evening on the Royal Park Hotel patio.
Being seated at a table near Roger, and after much consternation about interrupting his evening, my brother and I went for it! We apologized for the interruption and introduced ourselves. Roger was very cordial and listened to my stories regarding what a big fan I am, including my “Who themed” wedding at the very same hotel a few years earlier. One of the band members joked “and are you still married?” which Roger found amusing.
The whole experience was topped off, the following evening, with an excellent and somewhat unique Roger Daltrey concert. It included, Who hits, Daltrey solo hits, deep tracks, and cover songs all done with a (mostly acoustic) 9 piece band. Roger’s voice still sounded good (at 80) as did the band the band, including Pete Townshend’s younger brother (Simon).
All-in-all, an experience I will never forget!
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