The Who, Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Eddie Vedder, Noel Gallagher, The Chemical Brothers and more will perform at the final Roger Daltrey-curated season of Teenage Cancer Trust shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in March.
The Who's frontman Roger Daltrey has been organising the programme for the hugely successful charity fundraising gigs for 24 years, and is stepping away from that role with an impressive final bow of gigs, before passing on the baton.
The Who will headline two nights at the iconic London venue, March 18 and March 20, supported by Squeeze, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will headline on march 21, Young Fathers and The Chemical Brothers will play on March 22 and 23, respectively, and the final night of the season, March 24, will see Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Stereophonics' Kelly Jones, Paul Weller and more return to the west London for a special curtain-closer billed as ‘Ovation’ - A Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs For Teenage Cancer Trust'.
Speaking to Classic Rock last summer, Daltrey described his stewardship of the long-running concert season as "an incredible ride."
"To carry on doing it, I'll have to sign another five year contract with the Albert Hall," he explained. "And I don't know if I'm going to be around in five years!"
"I'm hoping that some of the popular people in this industry will want to take up the baton and curate nights," he added. "When I took this on, I was younger, and up for the challenge, but I had to sign a lease for 22 years to guarantee me those week of shows every year. I'll still be a patron for the charity, and still going out speaking on the charity's behalf, but I have to consider the timeframe, obviously. We've achieved something incredible, we wanted to build 25 hospital wards around the country for teenagers with cancer, and we delivered on that promise: in fact we've built 30. It's been an incredible ride."
The full 2024 line-up is as follows:
Mar 18: The Who with Orchestra, with special guests Squeeze
Mar 19: Evening Of Comedy - line-up tba
Mar 20: The Who with Orchestra, with very special guests Squeeze
Mar 21: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, with very special guests Blossoms
Mar 22: Young Fathers plus special guests
Mar 23: The Chemical Brothers
Mar 24 - ‘Ovation’ - A Celebration of 24 Years of Gigs For Teenage Cancer Trust' with Roger Daltrey, Kelly Jones, Robert Plant with Saving Grace, Pete Townshend, Eddie Vedder, Paul Weller
Tickets on sale at 9am GMT on Friday 12 January. For information, visit the Royal Albert Hall's website, gigsandtours.com, or the UK Ticketmaster site.
From 2025, Teenage Cancer Trust will be working with a series of guest curators to take the shows forward and into the future.
Kate Collins, Chief Executive of the Teenage Cancer Trust, says, “For the 22nd year Roger has put together a remarkable season of shows. Roger’s impact on the lives of young people with cancer in the UK is immeasurable. The very first show for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall in 2000 “The Who & Friends” was the catalyst for what has become over 20 years of flagship weeks of fundraising, awareness raising and magical moments at this exceptional venue. After that first gig, Roger became the driving force behind changing the lives of young people with cancer in the UK. Working day and night, year-round, Roger has enabled these gigs to form the bedrock of Teenage Cancer Trust’s growth to be the leading charity for young people with cancer in the UK. Quite simply, we would not be the charity we are without Roger and these shows and – more importantly than that – thousands of young people with cancer in the UK would not have had the specialist support and care they urgently need.
“These concerts have raised over £32 million for specialist hospital wards, nurses and youth workers - ensuring young people in the UK do not face cancer alone - however we urgently need to continue to raise funds to continue our work. Roger's tireless drive has helped Teenage Cancer Trust change the lives of young people with cancer on a scale that was unimaginable at the first show in 2000. It is time to celebrate his unstoppable drive, determination, commitment and leadership and what better way to do it than with this amazing line up for the 22nd year of shows. We're all looking forward to this stellar week and are proud to have Roger's continued support as Teenage Cancer Trust's Honorary Patron as we continue to strive to support all young people with cancer in the UK.”
