THE WHO

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Not a nostalgia act, nor does it seem like anything approaching a farewell. They remain one of the great rock ’n’ roll bands of their time, and as evidenced by the new song “Ball & Chain,” from an album due in November, they aren’t done yet.

“I was skeptical about making a new album,” Townshend told the crowd, “but it’s a great f—— album.”

Walking onto a crowded stage, Daltrey and Townshend were accompanied by guitarist Simon Townshend (Pete’s brother), longtime drummer Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son), bassist Jon Button and keyboard player Loren Gold. Surrounding them, already seated, were members of a 48-piece orchestra, facing conductor Keith Levenson.

If the presence of the orchestra unnerved Who purists — would Keith Moon allow a conductor to keep time for him? — their concerns were quickly resolved. From the opening bursts of French horn on “Overture,” from “Tommy,” it was clear the evening would aspire to meet the big musical ambitions that Townshend the composer is famous for.

Most of the symphony players were from Orlando-based Craig Turley Orchestras, and in introducing them, Townshend spoke highly of time he and Daltrey spent rehearsing with them at GStar School of the Arts in Palm Beach County in May, before the tour.

The core band provided some vivid rock ’n’ roll moments by itself on a punchy “Substitute” and the soaring “I Can See for Miles.” Daltrey and Townshend shared a remarkable acoustic version of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Townshend’s percussive guitar work amazing to watch.

But orchestra musicians played a part in most of the night’s highlights: Violinist Katie Jacoby and cellist Audrey Snyder came to the front of the stage as accompanists on Daltrey’s brooding but elegant reading of “Behind Blue Eyes,” and Jacoby would return to center stage for “Baba O’Riley,” her minute-long solo closing the song, and the evening, in a rush of applause.

“Pinball Wizard” was a boisterous sing-along early on; “We’re Not Gonna Take It” showed the violins at their most rock ’n’ roll; while the symphony took a back seat to Townshend’s nimble guitar picking on “Who Are You.”

The late disco-era boogie down “Eminence Front” was a popular groove, after which Townshend reminded the crowd that he wrote the song about cocaine dealers in “Flo-ree-da,” saying, “I’m glad you love it, because it’s yours!”

Two new songs were shared, “Hero Ground Zero” and “Ball & Chain,” the latter a pulsating, lyrically bruising call-out of U.S. policy in Guantanamo, Cuba, that feels like vintage Who.

The Who also broke out a few welcome rarities, including the acoustic ballad “Imagine a Man,” warmed by cello, and “Quadrophenia” cuts “I’m One,” sung by Townshend with growly dissatisfaction, and the towering instrumental “The Rock,” with the Townshend brothers in a pitched battle to the end.

Opening the night was Reignwolf, a blues-rock trio led by disarmingly charismatic force of nature Jordan Cook (a.k.a. Reignwolf), who is something of a cult hero on the festival circuit. In a black leather jacket with a black ski cap pulled low across his eyes, the guitarist demanded the attention of a still-filling BB&T Center with an intense 30-minute set that whiplashed between exuberant self-indulgence and straight-from-the-gods rock ’n’ roll majesty.

Roaring into a mic held in one hand, which he often used to scrape at the guitar cradled in the other — at one point doing it all while banging away behind the drum kit — Cook was a one-man wrecking crew, a rocker, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Definitely a performer worth keeping an ear for throughout ’s long-awaited debut album, “Hear Me Out,” was released in March, and the band is part of the Miami Pop Festival lineup on Nov 9. For a tremendous turnout every So

MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/CONTRIBUTOR PHOTOS Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of the Who perform at BB&T Center on Friday.

“I was skeptical about making a new album, but it’s a great f—— album.” Pete Townshend, guitarist and principal songwriter

A packed crowd cheers during the show Friday night.