Foreigner’s Mick Jones on Orchestral LP, Big Tour

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Foreigner performing with the 21st Century Orchestra & Chorus in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2017 (Photo: Karsten Staiger, used with permission)

In May 2017, Foreigner performed two sold-out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland, together with the full orchestra & chorus, conducted by Ernst van Tiel. The concerts featured such classic rock hits as “Cold As Ice,” “Double Vision” and “Waiting For a Girl Like You.”

On April 27, Foreigner released an album from those concerts, with the band accompanied by that 58-piece orchestra and 60-member choir. Foreigner With the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, features 14 of their biggest hits via earMUSIC.

The band released the live performance clip of “Urgent” on May 2.

Watch the official video of “Urgent”

Mick Jones (R) with Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, May 1, 2018, during Live Nation’s National Concert Week kickoff (Photo: Greg Brodsky)

At Live Nation’s 2018 National Concert Week press event on April 30, Best Classic Bands asked Mick Jones how the orchestral album came about: “We were going to Switzerland and the promoters offered us their place… a big theater, a beautiful ballet and opera theater with perfect acoustics. They said ‘we’ll give you our orchestra and 60-member choir’ … a cast of thousands! It was too good to refuse. I worked on it in New York with a friend of mine, Dave Eggar, who’s a monster cellist. We brought a camera crew over and filmed it over three days and it turned out incredibly well.

“We’ve done some shows in the States with a limited orchestra and we’ll be doing more of those. The reception has been very positive and I’m thrilled that my songs can be played in a classical manner.”

Foreigner have a big summer trek with Whitesnake and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening called “Juke Box Heroes Tour,” produced by Live Nation. (See the complete itinerary below.)

Foreigner are: Mick Jones (guitar), Kelly Hansen (lead vocals), Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals), Tom Gimbel (rhythm guitar, sax, vocals), Michael Bluestein (keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar) and Chris Frazier (drums).

Watch some behind the scenes footage and the performance of “Double Vision” from the orchestral album

Foreigner With the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Track List

1. OVERTURE
2. BLUE MORNING, BLUE DAY
3. COLD AS ICE
4. WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU
5. SAY YOU WILL
6. WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE
7. THAT WAS YESTERDAY
8. FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
9. STARRIDER
10. DOUBLE VISION
11. FOOL FOR YOU ANYWAY
12. URGENT
13. JUKE BOX HERO
14. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS

Related: Our inside story of how Foreigner signed with Atlantic Records

Foreigner 2018 Tour Dates (Tickets are available here)

Orchestral Dates

May 26 – Lucerne Switzerland KKL Lucerne
May 27 – Lucerne Switzerland KKL Lucerne

Other Foreigner Tour Dates

05.05.2018 ISRAEL Tel Aviv MENORA MIVTACHIM ARENA
05.07.2018 ROMANIA Bucharest SALA PALATULUI
05.08.2018 BULGARIA Ruse BULSTRAD ARENA
05.09.2018 BULGARIA Sofia ARENA ARMEEC
05.12.2018 UK Manchester O2 APOLLO
05.13.2018 UK Glasgow CLYDE AUDITORIUM SEC ARMADILLO
05.15.2018 UK Birmingham SYMPHONY HALL
05.16.2018 UK London THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
05.18.2018 ICELAND Rekjavik LAUGARDALSHOLL
05.20.2018 GERMANY Hamburg STADTPARK FREILICHTBÜHNE
05.21.2018 GERMANY Siegen KULTURPUR 28
05.23.2018 GERMANY Baden-Baden FESTSPIELHAUS BADEN-BADEN
05.26.2018 SWITZERLAND Lucerne KKL LUCERNE
05.27.2018 SWITZERLAND Lucerne KKL LUCERNE

Juke Box Heroes Tour Dates

Jun 15 – Bangor, ME – Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
Jun 16 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Jun 19 – Syracuse, NY – Lakeview Amphitheater
Jun 20 – Boston, MA – Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
Jun 22 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach
Jun 23 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
Jun 26 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
Jun 27 – Burgettstown, PA – KeyBank Pavilion
Jun 29 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Jun 30 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Jul 03 – Raleigh, NC – Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
Jul 04 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
Jul 06 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Jul 07 – Alpharetta, GA – Verizon Amphitheatre
Jul 08 – Simpsonville, SC – Heritage Park Amphitheatre
Jul 10 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
Jul 11 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
Jul 13 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Jul 15 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Jul 17 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
Jul 18 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Jul 20 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Jul 21 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Jul 24 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Jul 25 – West Valley City, UT – Usana Amphitheater
Jul 27 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
Jul 28 – Ridgefield, WA – Sunlight Supply Amphitheatre
Jul 29 – Murphy, CA – Ironstone Amphitheatre
Jul 31 – Chula Vista, CA – Mattress Firm Amphitheatre
Aug 01 – Irvine, CA – Five Point Amphitheater
Aug 04 – Sturgis, SD – Sturgis Buffalo Chip

Other Dates

Aug 11 – West Allis, WI – Wisconsin State Fair (with Living Colour)
Aug 12 – Springfield, IL – Grandstand at Illinois State Fair (with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)
Sep 01 – Huron, SD – South Dakota State Fair
Sep 02 – Norfolk, NE – Divots Event Center (with Tesla)
Sep 21 – San Francisco, CA – AT&T Park (with Def Leppard and Journey)
Sep 22 – Reno, NV – Silver Legacy Resort Casino

Orchestral Dates

Oct 12 – Canberra, Australia – Royal Theatre
Oct 14 – Adelaide, Australia – Botanic Park
Oct 16 – Perth, Australia – Riverside Theatre
Oct 18 – Sydney, Australia – Sydney Opera Concert Hall
Oct 25-26 – Sydney, Australia – Rock the Boat
Oct 30 – Melbourne, Australia – Hamer Hall
Nov 01 – Hamilton, New Zealand – Claudelands Arena

 

Best Classic Bands Staff

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