Local Spins interviews both multi-platinum-selling bands as the classic rock icons bring their co-headlining tour to Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena on Tuesday and Pine Knob on Saturday.
Foreigner (with Kelly Hansen) and Styx are set to pump up Michigan fans this week. (Foreigner/Courtesy Photo-Styx/Photo by Jason Powell)
It may not feel like the first time any more for Foreigner – not after nearly 50 years and 2,500 shows – but it is the first time the band is touring as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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“I was thrilled to learn of Foreigner’s nomination,” says band founder Mick Jones. “This confirmation of our coming membership in the home of my peers is a priceless highlight of my career.”
Ironically, this is the first and the last time the band will be on tour as Hall of Famers.
News of the band’s selection came in the midst of its two-year farewell tour, which kicks off its next phase Tuesday (June 11) at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The “Renegades & Juke Box Heroes” tour will feature Foreigner and co-headliner Styx, which has news of its own: Terry Gowan, brother of keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, has officially been announced as the band’s new bass player. He replaces Ricky Phillips, who left the group in March after 21 years.
Farewell to Foreigner: The band returns to Grand Rapids one last time this coming week. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
John Waite will open the shows, with Foreigner and Styx trading off the closing slot. It’s all part of a tour that will crisscross the country and beyond. It’s subtitled, “Together Live for the Last Time Ever.”
The show starts at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday; tickets are $29.50-$79.50 available online here.
The bands also play Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston on Saturday (June 15). Tickets here.
“The plan has always been a two-year thing to get everywhere,” says Foreigner lead singer Kelly Hansen.
Known for iconic hits such as “Cold As Ice” and “Feels Like the First Time,” the band will be showcasing those and more. But with three artists performing and a career’s worth of hits – 16 in the top 30 – there won’t be time for a full-scale Foreigner show with lots of deep cuts.
Hansen says creating a set list is a challenge. “It’s a good problem to have, but it’s an issue,” Hansen admits.
“We can’t do them all, all the time.”
A NIGHT OF GREATEST HITS FOR STYX, TOO, AND THEY INTEND TO KEEP TOURING
Foreigner’s not alone in that respect. Styx boasts 16 Top 40 singles, eight of which hit the Top Ten. Plus there are all those album songs the dedicated fans love.
All of that does indeed make it a challenge to select songs, but Styx vocalist and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan says bringing a night full of songs fans know and love is fun for the musicians as well as the audience. “Time constraints mean it’s a night of greatest hits,” he says.
It’s also a chance for the touring musicians to catch up with friends and check out shows they’d otherwise miss. “We’re looking forward to the triple bill. We’re just as entertained by the other acts,” says Gowan.
Hansen is also excited to be working with his friends. The two bands put together a playful video to announce the tour, featuring Hansen and Styx guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw. “It’s been ten years since we’ve played with Styx,” says Hansen.
Styx on stage at Meijer Gardens: A huge catalog to choose from. (Photo/Jamie Geysbeek)
Hansen says Foreigner’s decision to bring a halt to the band is due to simply to getting older and wanting to go out while still meeting the standard the band has set over the course of its career.
Jones is 79 and only performs with the band sporadically. Even though he’s more than a decade younger, Hansen agrees that it’s time to put the band to bed. “I’m 62. Doing it at the top of my game gets harder,” he admits.
As a member of the band for 19 years, Hansen has seen its fan base continue to expand beyond the generation that embraced it during its hit-making years. He’s said that over the last decade, he’s seen more younger people at the band’s performances, which he attributes to a variety of factors: Classic rock radio, both traditional and satellite, streaming, social media, and the presence of its songs in other media, such as “Stranger Things.”
The same is true for Styx. Gowan says the fact people can instantly access the band’s music from its first recordings in the early ’70s through YouTube, Spotify and other online portals means its music reaches across age barriers. “They instantly have access (they) can investigate,” he says.
One big difference between the bands: Gowan says there are no plans to bring Styx to a halt. “None of us want to stop. We have no intention of (this being) a last go-round.”
Especially now that his brother Terry, a longtime member of his solo band, is along for the ride. ”I’m very pleased and proud to have my brother join Styx. Terry played on four of my six solo Gowan albums,” he says. “It’s really great to have him aboard.”
Styx continues to write and record, releasing “Crash of the Crown” in 2021 to generally positive reviews. “It was No. 1 on the Billboard classic rock chart,” Gowan says.
Could Styx be part of the next wave of the Rock Hall’s inductees? It’s certainly possible. The band has been eligible since 1997, even longer than Foreigner, and if not always the critics’ darling, it has sold millions of records and produced numerous hits, while lasting for a half-century.
No doubt a number of the same people who championed Foreigner would do the same for Styx.
Regardless, Gowan says the band is pleased to continue recording and performing. “We’re happy to still be waving the flag.”
VIDEO: Foreigner, Styx 2024 Tour
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