Credit: Bill Bernstein2017 marks the 40th anniversary of Foreigner‘s self-titled debut album, and the band is marking the milestone by launching a year-long celebration that includes headlining concerts, a major summer tour with Cheap Trick and various commemorative events, releases and promotions. The veteran rockers kicked things off in January with a series of headlining shows, and this past week the group launched a contest called the “I Want to Know What Love Is Flyaway Sweepstakes.”
Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen explains the promotion to ABC Radio: “Basically what we’re saying is, ‘We want to know what love is to our fans.’ And so, we’re asking them…to send a pic or a video [depicting what love means to them] to ForeignerWhatLoveIs.com.” He adds that “the winner of that contest will get a fly-away trip to see us live in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre on [August 30].”
As for the summer tour with Cheap Trick, which also will feature Jason Bonham and his Led Zeppelin Experience, Hansen says his band is planning to tweak its set “to kind of point to the fact that this is 40 years of Foreigner.”
Meanwhile, Foreigner leader Mick Jones recently announced that some of the group’s former members, including founding frontman Lou Gramm, will appear at select shows this year, although Hansen tells ABC Radio that nothing is “set in stone” with regard to the guest spots. He adds, however, “I suspect that this will come to fruition.”
Other special events Foreigner has planned include orchestral concerts on May 20 and 21 in Lucerne, Switzerland, that guitarist Jeff Pilson reveals “will be filmed and recorded” for an album and a home video that “probably [will] come out later in the year.”
Visit ForeignerOnline.com all for the latest news about the band’s 40th anniversary celebrations.
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