Details On The Next Foreigner Reunion
Another reunion of Foreigner‘s alumni has been scheduled.
The current lineup, including founder and leader Mick Jones, will be joined by original frontman Lou Gramm, drummer Dennis Elliott, keyboardist Al Greenwood and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, along with the group’s second bassist Rick Wills, for a pair of shows on Oct. 6-7 at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mount Pleasant Michigan.
The concerts will be filmed for a TV special, DVD and live album, all expected to be released during 2018.
This follows other reunions during the group’s 40th anniversary tour this year: Gramm, McDonald and Greenwood joined Jones and the current Foreigner lineup for a three-song encore on July 20 at Jones Beach in Wantah, N.Y., while Elliott came on stage Aug. 2 in Tampa, Fla., and Wills had played with the group in June 11 in Spain.
In a statement Jones says that, “Playing alongside Lou, Dennis, Al, Ian and Rick again certain brought back some special memories and we decided it would be the ultimate celebration to join together on one stage, and give the fans the best possible farewell to our 40th anniversary.”
Gramm, meanwhile, tells us that he’s also enjoyed performing with Foreigner again after 14 years away:
“It’s been very exciting and certainly stirs up a lot of memories. It’s great to be back onstage with Mick again, and the other members, and we’re treated very nicely. The guys in his new band are terrific, and they’ve helped us out in a number of ways, so it’s been a lot of fun…and for a number of songs towards the end of our set the new Foreigners came out and joined us, and I think that was really kind of bridging the gap and it just felt like the right thing to do.”
Jones has also suggested there may be more Foreigner reunions in the future. After the Michigan shows, Foreigner has more North American dates and a concert in Mexico booked into mid-November, while a European tour begins next May 8 in Bulgaria.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
