The Who performed at private backyard concert to support Teen Cancer America

The Who played one final show in the US last Friday (October 3), as they joined a star studded line-up of classic rock bands at the 10th anniversary of the annual “Backyard Concert” charity event in Pacific Palisades near Los Angeles, to support Teen Cancer America and UCLA Health.

Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend co-founded Teen Cancer America in 2012, and have performed at this private event a few times over the years, which has helped to raise millions to provide specialized care and facilities for teenagers and young adults who suffer from cancer in the United States.

The Backyard Concert was hosted by Jordan Kaplan, who is on the board of directors of TCA and has put this event on every year in his backyard, and Rebecca Rothstein, who is the chairman and founder of TCA. It was MC’ed by Judd Apatow, who introduced the bands and auctioned off items to help raise funds for the charity, including memorabilia from The Who. The event raised over $6 million for the charities.

Other artists on the bill were Eddie Vedder, Def Leppard, John Fogerty, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, and The Doobie Brothers. There were also special appearances by boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, and Los Angeles Laker legends Kareem Abdul-Jabber and Michael Cooper.

Pete and Roger were backed by the same lineup of musicians as they had on the tour, with Simon Townshend on guitar, Loren Gold on keyboards, Jon Button on bass, Scott Devours on drums, Jody Linscott on percussion, Katie Jacoby on violin, and John Hogg on backing vocals.

Eddie Vedder also joined in with The Who to perform The Kids Are Alright!

The Who played 7 songs in a 50 minute set. All of the other acts played 30-35 minutes each.

Here is their setlist:

I Can't Explain
Who Are You
I Can See For Miles
You Better You Bet
The Kids Are Alright (with Eddie Vedder)
Won't Get Fooled Again
Baba O'Riley

The concert took place just two days after the end of The Who’s Song is Over farewell tour, which wrapped up in Palm Springs, CA on October 1st. That show was billed as their final concert in the US, so this charity show was a real bonus for those who were lucky enough (and had deep enough pockets) to attend!

Many thanks to Ross Halfin and Horace Austin for letting us share their lovely photos from the Backyard Concert!

The Who at TCA Backyard Concert Photo credit: Ross Halfin