Todd Rundgren says tour with Daryl Hall probably will be “the high point of the year” for him

Todd Rundgren‘s joint U.S. tour with Hall & Oates lead singer Daryl Hall begins tonight in Chicago.

Rundgren will open for Hall on the 14-date cross-country trek, which winds down May 22 in Austin, Texas.

Todd, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this past October, says his tour with Daryl probably will be “the high point of the year” for him.

“First of all, I get…an hour-long set of my own material to do with a great band…I’ll be with Daryl’s house band,” Rundgren notes. “And [we’re] playing like the most prestigious venues. You know, we’re only doing eight shows in the first leg, but it’s Carnegie Hall [in New York] and Auditorium Theatre in Chicago and the Ryman in Nashville. You know all these classic venues.”

Todd says he also appreciates that Hall has at least one day off between each concert on the trek, which he notes is “just the easiest possible way to get through a tour.”

Meanwhile, Rundgren reveals that he’ll be joining Hall at the end of the shows for “a little encore sing-off thing.”

“[T]hat should be a lot of fun…because Daryl and I kind of challenge each other in little ways,” Todd maintains. “And it gets us both kind of at the edges of our capacities, you know, just trying to keep up with each other.”

Tickets for the tour are available at LiveNation.com.

The trek’s kickoff coincides with the release of Daryl’s first-ever solo compilation, BeforeAfter. The 30-track collection features selections from Daryl’s solo albums, as well as eight performances from his TV/web series Live from Daryl’s House, including a duet with Rundgren on Todd’s 1978 hit “Can We Still Be Friends.”