Seminal classic rock band Foreigner isn’t keen on taking breaks.
Five decades in and the group is still on a steady diet of world tours, festival appearances, and even a brief Las Vegas stint this past March. The band’s latest road trip is as jam-packed as ever: A 19-date North American amphitheater tour that kicked off in late July and wraps at the end of August.
The trek, which hits Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville on Aug. 7, is a biggie. The Double Trouble Double Vision tour pairs Foreigner with Lynyrd Skynyrd for a double dose of legendary rock groups. And Skynyrd isn’t the only addition: At Ruoff, the Fishers High School Choir will join the band onstage to sing “I Want to Know What Love is,” as per the band’s tradition of inviting high school ensembles to sing the No. 1 hit.
Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson, the band’s longest-tenured member of its current lineup, couldn’t be more confident in the group and the tour they’ve put together. Pilson chatted with IndyStar about the strength of the Foreigner lineup, new twists on the band’s setlist and the time he had a front-row seat to the Indianapolis Colts’ AFC Championship win.
Responses have been edited for style and clarity.
Question: Foreigner’s on the road constantly. How do you manage the demands of the touring schedule, and what does the preparation look like?
Answer: You have to adjust your life. I have a very supportive family, which is great. You make time. You make the allowances you need. I love doing what I do. The band is firing on all cylinders right now, it’s just in a great place. You go with the flow. You make your life as healthy as possible.
Because we play so often, we don’t really have to do a lot of rehearsing. We have a little bit more than usual because we’re trying to change the set list up and do different songs. That’s one thing that’s a little bit different and does require a little bit more rehearsal. But really it’s more about logistics and planning all that.
Question: Foreigner’s undergone its fair share of lineup changes during its run. How does that affect synergy on stage, and has the current lineup settled into playing together?
Answer: Of course lineup changes affect things. That’s why we’ve refined it now, where I feel like the lineup now is going to last a long time. It’s very, very stable. It’s very solid. Everybody’s a real team player. It’s all really, really good.
We’ve had guys fit in musically, but it’s really about the whole thing. It’s about the vibe, how you get along and all that stuff. Right now, everything is operating on a high level. We even feel it with the fans. There’s something going on. It’s not tangible, necessarily, but you feel it. And I think the personnel has a lot to do with that.
Question: Your hits have stood the test of time and are all but guaranteed on the setlist. How do you keep the older material fresh on stage?
Answer: For years, we were pretty much locked into a setlist. Let’s face it, when you have 16 top-30 songs, the setlist sort of writes itself. But we’ve found that, of late, the way we’re keeping it fresh is we’re changing it up. We’re trying different songs. There’s a staple of songs that, of course, we have to do every night. How are you going to walk away not doing “Hot Blooded”? How do you not do that? You don’t. But we have some songs in the set that we rotate, and that’s how we keep it fresh for ourselves.
I love doing stuff like that. It keeps it exciting. It keeps us on our toes musically. And it keeps it so it’s not robotic. You don’t want to be robotic.
Question: Foreigner’s started a tradition of bringing up local high school choirs to sing “I Want to Know What Love is” at shows. Fishers High School will join you at Ruoff. How did this come about?
Answer: It was our manager’s idea years ago. We’d been working with the Grammy Foundation and Music Cares, and we’re trying to help school music program. Let’s face it, in America, a lot of the music programs are getting cut because of budget cuts. We feel that’s just not cool. I myself am a product of public school music education, and I owe a lot to that. It’s really ruining a lot of kids’ chances if you take that away from them.
By bringing these choirs up, not only do we raise some money for them, but we also give them an opportunity to have real-life experience. I think that’s a great thing. You can sort of see it in their eyes sometimes. A couple of these people are getting the bug – the showbiz bug – and that’s great. That’s what life’s all about.
Question: Foreigner shares headlining duties with Lynyrd Skynyrd on this tour. How’d that partnership form?
Answer: We did a show with Skynyrd several years ago, but we’d never toured with them. I’ll tell you, it’s just great. Not only are they a legendary, classic band with all these amazing songs, they’re really great guys too. We’re really enjoying their company. The genesis of it was typical business stuff: Let’s take two legendary bands and throw them together. It was that simple.
We’d been talking about it for a long time, and it finally came to fruition, so we’re excited. It’s just such a winning combination. It’s an amazing show, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Question: Foreigner’s played Indiana plenty during its run, including a spot at Carb Day during the 2019 Indianapolis 500 and a co-headlining show with Styx at Ruoff in 2024. Any standout Indiana memories?
Answer: We played a Colts game years ago, halftime of the (2010) AFC Championship in Indianapolis. I love doing stuff for the NFL. It was just such a fun experience. We were right there on the field, Peyton Manning was like 10 feet away. That’s one of my favorite Indy memories.
It’s always great playing Indianapolis because the Midwest in general is just so great for Foreigner. The fans really connect to the music there. They’re just really into it, and they’re deep. I love the commitment that Midwest audiences have.
Question: What can fans expect Aug. 7?
Answer: Expect a lot of energy. If I’m to blow a little smoke, I want to talk about our new singer, whose name is Luis Maldonado. This guy is just a force to be dealt with. Not only does he have one of the most beautiful, natural voices I’ve ever heard, but the guy brings so much energy and so much passion and so much soul and so much emotion to the show. It really takes it to another level. He brings everybody in. You feel like your best friend is up there doing it.
We do a version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” that’s so impactful, mostly because of the way Luis sings it. We do a stripped-down version of it, and he sings it so amazingly well. It’s a real highlight of the show. There’s a lot of moments that I could talk about, but I sort of want to blow a little smoke.
Tickets, times for Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd at Ruoff Music Center
Foreigner and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Double Trouble Double Vision Tour will hit Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 7. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.
Contact IndyStar Pop Culture Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@indystar.com. Follow her on X @hmb_1013.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Winning combination’: Foreigner bassist teases Ruoff stop with Lynyrd Skynyrd
Reporting by Heather Bushman, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Heather Bushman, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
