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As he and Roger Daltrey embark on another tour, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend is in the rearview mirror of his life in music, and honestly reflecting on what’s coming up next. At 80 years old, Townshend said that touring can be isolating at this point in his life. Still, he’s thankful to be able to play.

“It can be lonely,” Townshend shared with Billboard. “I’ve thought, ‘Well, this is my job, I’m happy to have the work, but I prefer to be doing something else.’ Then I think, ‘Well, I’m 80 years old. Why shouldn’t I revel in it? Why shouldn’t I celebrate?”

The Who announced its 17-date tour of North America earlier this year. It follows several tours over the years and across decades. With each performance comes the weight of an accumulated legacy for the band. Townshend said he’s come to see The Who as more than just a rock band now. “I think it’s fair to say that now it’s become a brand rather than a band,” he added. “Roger and I, I think we both have a duty to the music and the history. The Who [still] sells records — the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. So there’s that. But also, I think, there’s something more. The art, the creative work, is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band.”

In the interview, Townshend paid tribute to two members of The Who who died young, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle. Moon died at 32 and Entwistle at 57. As the band makes its way through its final days, Townshend added, he’s come to see a difference between honoring The Who on stage and what his life might mean away from it. “It does whet an appetite to think about how we should bow out in our personal lives — what we do with our families and our friends and everything else at this age,” he said. “We’re lucky to be alive. I’m looking forward to playing. Roger likes to throw wild cards out sometimes in the set, and we have learned and rehearsed a few songs that we don’t always play.”

After 50 years in the spotlight, Townshend hasn’t lost his sense of anticipation for live music. He and Daltrey are sharing the stage for the first time since the pandemic during the North American tour, which was postponed for a year. For the guitarist, learning some unfamiliar songs has helped to prevent the setlist from getting stale.

Roger Daltrey on Performing with The Who and What’s Next

The Who’s other frontman, Roger Daltrey, has also been frank about his health and how his stamina for touring has waned over the years. In April, during a benefit performance with Townshend for Teenage Cancer Trust in London, the vocalist told the audience that the latest tours are taxing at his age. “Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy,” Daltrey said, referring to the character at the center of The Who’s groundbreaking 1969 rock opera. Echoing lyrics from the album, he quipped, “Deaf, dum,b and blind kid.”

Daltrey went into more detail on his health in an interview earlier this month with The Times. His comments seemed to signathean end of an era to fans, as the two bandmates put years of touring behind them. “This is certainly the last time you will see us on tour,” he told The Times. “It’s grueling.”

He elaborated on why the strain of playing The Who’s music now is more challenging at his age and his health in retirement. “In the days when I was singing Who songs for three hours a night, six nights a week, I was working harder than most footballers,” Daltrey said. Now at 80, he’s not so sure he can keep that up. “As to whether we’ll play [one-off] concerts again, I don’t know,” Daltrey mused. “The Who to me is very perplexing.”

Daltrey also said he feels lucky that his voice is as strong as ever. “My voice is still as good as ever,” he shared. “It’s holding up well, I think.”

Audiences in North America might be seeing The Who on tour for the final time. Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend know it. The legendary band has come to an end, or at least that part of it. As they take the stage, Townshend’s words are as true for him as for the crowds they meet at every stop along the way. “We’re lucky to be alive.”