Tour Alert! Foreigner announces Farewell Tour starting in 2023

After 45 years of what felt like a first for Foreigner, the veteran rock group is planning its final tour.

Formed in 1976 by British guitarist Mick Jones, the band will begin their Historic Farewell Tour in Alpharetta, Georgia on July 6th, ending on September 3rd in Holmdel, New Jersey. I have a performance scheduled. A rubber boy is opened. Additional domestic and international flights will be available by the end of 2024.

Jones, 77, tells Billboard, “Foreigner is a completely revitalized band with a whole new energy that has won the hearts of our fans all over the world, and I want to go out while the band is still at the top of its game. I had the idea that was to become Foreigner back in 1974, and I was 30 years old at the time. By the end of our farewell tour, over 50 years will have passed, and that’s a long time to be on the road.”

Kelly Hansen, who has fronted Foreigner since 2005, says he and Jones have been talking about a move for some time. “It’s a very difficult decision,” he noted, adding that maintaining the band’s level of performance, especially his performance, was the driving force behind the decision to pull the plug.

“This catalog of songs, it’s extremely challenging for a rock tenor vocalist like myself to sing. I never would have thought in a million years I’d be singing these songs in the keys at this age, and I don’t know how much longer I can do that at the level I need to do. You can drop keys and do this and do that, but I’m more of an old school person. If I’m not doing it for real then I shouldn’t be doing it, explains Hansen, 61.

“We’re at an era in life where a lot of bands from the ’70s are right on the ragged edge of still being able to do shows. I see other musicians sometimes that I go, ‘Wow, that was disappointing,’ and I don’t want to be someone that other people say that about. I want to do this band the way it’s supposed to be, and when it’s not like that I don’t want to be doing it.”

Since its inception, Foreigner has released nine studio albums, five of which are multi-platinum, including a record-breaking 1982 hit. Also on the Billboard Hot 100, he has achieved nine Top 10 singles. This includes his rock radio staples such as “My First Feeling”, “Hot Blood”, “Double Vision” and “Emergency”, as well as the chart-topping power of his ballad “I Want You”. To Know What Love Is” Over the years there have been over 20 members on the roster, with members from the first two lineups joining many in 2017 and 2018 with the current lineup. I made a guest appearance.

Foreigner is planning a series of concerts this month and also in the spring before the Farewell Tour begins. This includes his March and his April residencies at The Venetian in Las Vegas. Hansen adds that while Foreigner is stopping touring, it won’t go away entirely. “I’m sure what we do is going to be weird and random,” says the frontman. “You can never say no about things, but for me this is it. As we’ve seen, none of these are trying to get people into the show.

Hansen and Jeff Pilson, Foreigner’s bassist since 2004, said Foreigner, who released their final studio album Can’t Slow Down in 2009, may also release new music in the near future. “There are a lot of things in various stages of completion, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility,” predicts Hansen. Pilson says Jones has been writing songs with Marty Frederiksen and expects the band to work on them at some point.

“There are probably four close ones that I know of, plus a few other snippets,” says Pilson. “There’s a good chance that there won’t be a whole new [album] out. You’ll see some new songs added in some kind of package and some kind of single. Hopefully within the next year. We will definitely see new materials coming out. We don’t need new materials, but they are nice to have.”

The full itinerary for the first leg of the tour:
Thu July 6th Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Sat July 8th West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sun July 9th Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tue July 11th Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheatre
Fri July 14th Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Tue July 18th Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Wed July 19th St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Fri July 21st Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
Sat July 22nd Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Mon July 24th Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
Tue July 25th Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Fri July 28th Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Sat July 29th Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
Tue August 1st Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Wed August 2nd Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach
Fri August 4th Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Sat August 5th Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
Tue August 8th Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Wed August 9th Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Fri August 11th Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Sat August 12th Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Mon August 14th Austin, TX – Moody Center
Wed August 16th Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Fri August 18th Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheater
Sun August 20th Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Mon August 21st Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheater
Wed August 23rd Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheater
Thu August 24th Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Weds August 30th Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theater
Fri September 1st Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
Sat September 2nd Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sun September 3rd Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center