Who Is On Tour With Foreigner?
Foreigner Tickets is currently on their Double Vision: Then and Now tour, marking their 40th anniversary since becoming one of the most beloved rock bands ever. The current band members in this lineup include Mick Jones, who is the founding member of the band and also acts as the lead guitarist for the group; and Kelly Hansen, who is the lead vocalist of the band. Rounding out the rest of Foreigner's current touring lineup:Rounding out the rest of Foreigner's current touring lineup:
Jeff Pilson (bass, vocals) Bruce Watson: guitar, vocals Chris Frazier drums Michael Bluestein, Keyboards
Mick Jones, the original guitar player and songwriter for Foreigner, has been the consistent bassist for the band since 1976. The only surviving member of the original group, Jones still performs with virtuosity on guitar and takes part in composing the band’s most famous hits, which are performed with live musicians at any Foreigner concert. Playing the guitar for Britain, the musician began his music journey in the late 1960s with Nero and the Gladiators and Spooky Tooth, but he wanted to create a new band that embodied British rock and roll with an American pop feel. foreigner was born and Jones started a songwriting relationship with lead vocalist Lou Gramm that created most of the bands most popular songs in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. While Gramm left Foreigner in 1990 due to some conflicts with Jones, the latter continued touring with Foreigner, recruiting other vocalists such as Johnny Edwards and Kelly Hansen to ensure Foreigner’s classic hits were performed live. It is interesting to note that Mick Jones is now in his mid-70s, and nonetheless, he performs on stage with excitement and abilities characteristic of one of the pioneers of the classic rock guitar.
Kelvin Hansen, the lead vocalist of Foreigner, joined the group in mid-2005 after had been with Hurricane and Unruly Child. His superior, soaring voice and physicality changed the minds of the doubting foreign audiences very fast. As for the show, Hansen does a remarkably good Lou Gramm imitation on the Foreigner classics and also adds passion to the newer Foreigner songs. Hansen, at almost 60 years of age, is still able to perform on stage both vocally and with the theatrics. He is also a multi-instrumentalist; occasionally he accompanies the band as a drummer, guitarist or keyboard player. Now, more than fifteen years into his time with Foreigner, Hansen has demonstrated that he is the man to carry on as the voice behind some of rock’s most definitive anthems into the new millennium.
Jeff Pilson has been in this band since 2004, and he is also the bassist of the band. He was originally with Dokken in the 1980s and was a member of Dio during the early 1990s as well. He also play with bands such as MSG, The Underground, War & Peace, Adler’s Appetite and many more. Pilson has extensive experience on stage, the backing vocals are excellent, and the energy will be beneficial for the Foreigner band.
Other members of Foreigner include virtuoso guitarist and vocalist Bruce Watson, who completes the band’s rhythm section on drums and vocals. Watson has been a member of Foreigner since 2002, when he replaced guitarist Ian McDonald, who left the band. The talented Scottish musician started his journey in the late 1980s as one of the members of Big Country, the Scottish band that popularized such songs as “In a Big Country. ” Watson was actively involved in the band’s live performances as well as contributing to many of the group’s albums prior to him joining Foreigner. Because of his flexibility on the guitar, he can accurately mimic both Jones and McDonald’s guitar pieces and can also do solos sometimes. And his backing vocals are powerful and blend in with Hansen’s powerful leading voice even better.
Last but not least is the keyboardist of this current Foreigner’s touring crew, Michael Bluestein. Bluestein grew up in Indiana and has been Foreigner’s full-time keyboard player since 2008. He initially started performing for other bands before joining Chuck Berry band for several years. Since that time, Bluestein has been constantly traveling around the country, recording and performing with such giants as the band Foreigner, the singer Lita Ford, Eddie Money and others. His keyboards and other instruments, such as flutes, saxophones, drums, and background vocals, all add support to the traditional Foreigner sound.
For the larger tours, Foreigner introduced a new member in 2017, Luis Maldonado as an auxiliary member who also plays multiple instruments. Currently, Maldonado has been performing with John Fogerty, Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many more rock artists. During his foreign trips with the group, Maldonado usually performs as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and occasional vocalist. But as Foreigner sometimes does less elaborate concerts, Maldonado is not present as a permanent member of the band.
Thus, Foreigner today still plays the same songs that fans enjoyed in the ‘70s and ‘80s. At the core of it is Mick Jones, who ensures that the band stays true to its roots and its purpose. Foreigner has a high-quality vocalist in Kelly Hansen who can sing as well as the original singer. And fantastic new members such as Jeff Pilson, Bruce Watson, and Michael Bluestein complete the remaining part of Foreigner’s line-up. The current touring lineup shows that no matter how bands change with time due to original members growing old or leaving, Foreigner has a captivating arena rock sound to capture interest of old fans and gain new ones. See the current Foreigner band in concert with memorable hits ‘Feels Like the First Time’ and ‘Urgent’, as well as fabulous songs from the newest albums. Despite the fact that Foreigner may have existed for over 40 years, the current lineup still provides a perfect rendition of the band’s greatest hits every single night.
