Foreigner announce first leg of farewell tour for 2023

Classic rock stalwarts Foreigner have announced the first leg of their farewell tour, revealing a slew of North American dates for 2023.

The tour is scheduled to begin July 6 at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Georgia. It will continue throughout the US in July and August, wrapping up September 3 at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, New Jersey. Canadian rockers Loverboy (of ‘Working For The Weekend’ fame) will be on support duties for the shows. Tickets go on sale this Friday (November 18).

Per Billboard, the North American tour will be just one leg of a long farewell run Foreigner intend to carry out before they call it quits. More North American and international dates are set to be announced, with the band reportedly planning to tour until late 2024.

Foreigner’s line-up currently includes founding member Mick Jones, plus bassist Jeff Pilson, vocalist Kelly Hansen, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, guitarists Bruce Watson and Luis Maldonado and drummer Chris Frazier. Jones is the sole remaining member of the band’s original personnel to remain in the band – with all others joining in 2004 or later.

“Many years ago, I wrote a song called ‘Feels Like The First Time’ and today we are launching one last worldwide tour. We will be presenting a show that I know will have the same enthusiasm as our very first appearances,” Jones said in a statement.

“The tour will start this summer in America and we hope to get to every place that we have played over the last several years. While I’m sure our fans will have mixed feelings about the end of the road for the band, I know our shows are going to delight audiences everywhere.”

Foreigner were formed in New York in 1976 by Jones, along with ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald, vocalist Lou Gramm and others. Their self-titled album arrived the following year, spawning hits like ‘Feels Like The First Time’ and ‘Cold As Ice’. They enjoyed continued success in the late seventies and early eighties, with hits like ‘Hot Blooded’, ‘Juke Box Hero’, ‘Waiting For A Girl Like You’, ‘I Want To Know What Love Is’ and more.

Gramm left the band in 2003, but has occasionally appeared onstage with the band as a special guest in recent years. McDonald, who left the band in 1980, also made a slew of recent cameo appearances prior to his death in February.

Foreigner’s 2023 North American farewell tour dates are:

JULY
Thursday 6 – Alpharetta GA, Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Saturday 8 – West Palm Beach FL, iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sunday 9th – Tampa FL, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Tuesday 11 – Nashville TN, Ascend Amphitheatre
Friday 14 – Rogers AR, Walmart AMP
Tuesday 18 – Kansas City MO, Starlight Theatre
Wednesday 19 – St. Louis MO, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Friday 21 – Indianapolis IN, Ruoff Music Center
Saturday 22 – Tinley Park IL, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Monday 24 – Cleveland OH, Blossom Music Center
Tuesday 25 – Toronto ON, Budweiser Stage
Friday 28 – Darien Center NY, Darien Lake Amphitheater
Saturday 29 – Burgettstown PA, The Pavilion at Star Lake

AUGUST
Tuesday 1 – Saratoga Springs NY, Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Wednesday 2 – Wantagh NY, Northwell Health at Jones Beach
Friday 4 – Gilford NH, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Saturday 5 – Mansfield MA, Xfinity Center
Tuesday 8 – Raleigh NC, Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Wednesday 9 – Charlotte NC, PNC Music Pavilion
Friday 11 – Dallas TX, Dos Equis Pavilion
Saturday 12 – Houston TX, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Monday 14 – Austin TX, Moody Center
Wednesday 16 – Denver CO, Ball Arena
Friday 18 – Salt Lake City UT, USANA Amphitheater
Sunday 20 – Phoenix AZ, Ak-Chin Pavilion
Monday 21 – Irvine CA, FivePoint Amphitheater
Wednesday 23 – Wheatland CA, Toyota Amphitheater
Thursday 24 – Mountain View CA, Shoreline Amphitheatre
Wednesday 30 – Detroit MI, Pine Knob Music Theater

SEPTEMBER
Friday 1 – Uncasville CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
Saturday 2 – Syracuse NY, St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Sunday 3 – Holmdel NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center

The post Foreigner announce first leg of farewell tour for 2023 appeared first on NME.