Foreigner is teaming up with Kansas and Europe this summer for the 40-city “Juke Box Heroes 2020” trek. The shed tour launches on July 9th at Albuquerque, New Mexico's Isleta Amphitheater and runs through the summer, finally wrapping on September 13th in Austin, Texas at Germania Insurance Amphitheater.
Foreigner's co-founding guitarist and songwriter Mick Jones said in the tour announcement: “We can’t wait to hit the road with our good friends Kansas and Europe and bring all our biggest hits to cities across the country. We always have such a good time together, and combined we share some of the greatest songs in rock and roll. We are so excited to see our fans from coast to coast, and plan to make this summer our most epic tour yet!”
Kansas posted a statement, which reads: “We look forward to touring with Foreigner. It has been nearly 10 years since both bands have done a full tour together. That run was a blast, and we are excited to get started this summer. The bands and the crews get along great, and we’ll all be working tougher to perform an exceptional show for the fans.”
Mick Jones told us that he's thrilled with the fact that the older the songs get — the younger the audience seems to be: “Luckily, we have a lot of great attendance at our shows and it's fun playing for younger folk. There's a lot of interest from younger people that must've heard it passed down from their parents, their siblings or whatever. Y'know, some nights you look out there and you wonder what year it is. It's like kids singing the songs, know the lyrics, go crazy and it's like, wow, am I still. . . is this still happening, y'know (laughs)?”
Kansas guitarist Rich Williams remembered how much pressure Kansas was under to churn out the hits after making the Top 15 with 1976's “Carry On Wayward Son”: “There was a lot of pressure from (the) record company as far as, y'know, 'Give us a hit, give us a hit, give us a hit' — and that was something we never. . .Trying to write a hit was, I mean, '(Carry On) Wayward Son' was a mistake. There's nothing 'formula hit' about it — it just happened to work. And so, 'Give us another 'Wayward Son''– we can't do that! We never were the. . . a hit machine.”
Foreigner's next shows are set for January 16th, 17th, and 18th at Schermerhorn Symphony Center with the Nashville Symphony.
Kansas will next perform on January 31st at Savannah, Georgia's Johnny Mercer Theatre.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Foreigner / Kansas / Europe tour dates (subject to change):
July 9 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
July 10 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
July 11 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 13 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre (Foreigner and Europe only)
July 14 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 15 – Wheatland, CA – Toyota Amphitheatre
July 17 – Portland, OR – Sunlight Supply Amphitheater (Foreigner and Europe only)
July 18 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
July 21 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
July 22 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
July 24 – Kansas City, MO – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
July 25 – Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
July 26 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
July 28 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
July 29 – Cleveland, OH – Blossom Music Center
July 31 – Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
August 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
August 2 – Pittsburgh, PA – S&T Bank Music Park
August 4 – Boston, MA – Rockland Trust Bank Pavilion
August 5 – Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
August 7 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
August 8 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
August 9 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 21 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
August 22 – Holmdel, NY – PNC Bank Arts Center
August 23 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
August 25 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
August 26 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
August 28 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
August 29 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
August 30 – Birmingham, AL – Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
September 1 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
September 4 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place (Foreigner and Europe only)
September 5 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
September 6 – West Palm Beach, FL – Coral Sky Amphitheatre
September 8 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
September 9 – Southaven, MS – BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove
September 11 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
September 12 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
September 13 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater