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As if in slow motion, Pete Townshend’s return to the road has emerged over the past several months. He is currently on a 17-date North American tour with Roger Daltrey. Life on the road at this stage in his career, however, can seem lonely. “It can be lonely,” Townshend told Rolling Stone in a recent interview. “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?”

Townshend’s new outlook perhaps comes with the understanding that many fans will want to see the duo perform live. Both men are in their 80s, and this run is one of the last opportunities for audiences across North America. Not only is The Who still a band that sells records, but there is also a duty to acknowledge Moon and Entwistle’s legacies. “It’s a brand rather than a band,” Townshend explained in the interview. “Roger and I have a duty to the music and the history. The Who [still] sells records — the Moon and Entwistle families have become millionaires. There’s also something more, really: the art, the creative work, is when we perform it. We’re celebrating. We’re a Who tribute band.”

With both Daltrey and Townshend well past 80, many fans will take these performances as part of the long goodbye. “I suppose we’ve created something far bigger than just us,” the guitarist added. “I would say that it’s bigger than anybody’s band. It’s something to do with Britain or, dare I say it, England.” The Who is part of a storied tradition that made Britain a leader in rock and roll. From the Beatles to Led Zeppelin, The Who had a similar influence across the pond.

Amid the touring life, both Daltrey and Townshend are still grappling with a sense of gratitude for the opportunities they have had. “I am conscious that so many of my family, and Roger’s family, wouldn’t be here, and my friends as well, if it hadn’t been for that band,” he told the publication. “I’m aware of people saying, ‘Why are you so gloomy? Why do you want to shut it down?’ But we’re also very aware that it’s a celebration.”

Roger Daltrey Says The Who is ‘The Last Tour’ For Fans

For Roger Daltrey, there is also an end in sight. The singer recently opened up during a chat with The Times, marking one of the more blunt assessments of the current tour. With an understanding that this may be one of the last chances for fans, both he and Townshend feel a need to bow out gracefully. “This is certainly the last time you will see us on tour,” he told the paper. “It’s grueling.”

For Daltrey, there has been both an understanding of what fans want and an effort to address his own needs. At 80, his voice is often the metric by which fans measure the success of a given show. When asked about his health in the Times interview, however, he was honest and open. “Fortunately, I still have my voice, because then I’ll have a full Tommy,” he said before launching into the lyrics from the title track to The Who’s 1969 rock opera: “Deaf, dumb and blind kid.”

Daltrey then expanded upon the need to be honest and open with fans. During a recent Teenage Cancer Trust performance in London, he also made it clear that this new tour was no party: “This is a tough tour. The longest time off we’ve had between shows is five days. We never had such a break in the early days. But we always had a support band, which also gave the crowd a breather.”

He also alluded to other chances to come after the tour’s conclusion, although his thoughts on a permanent retirement from the road suggest it may not happen. “As to whether we’ll play [one-off] concerts again, I don’t know,” Daltrey said. “The Who to me is very perplexing. It used to be a band, but now it’s more like an institution.”