Foreigner played their final show with frontman Kelly Hansen on Saturday, turning the page on Hansen’s two-decade career with the classic rockers and preparing for a new chapter with a fresh singer.
You can see the set list and video from Saturday’s concert at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey, below.
Hansen was visibly emotional during his thank-you speech, fighting back tears as he thanked his bandmates, manager, fans and wife before Foreigner played “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
“Thank you all for all of your support,” he said. “I’ve been in this business I think about 48, 49 years. I’ve put in my time. I spent 20 years with this fantastic band singing a catalog of songs that a singer couldn’t dream of. And thank you.”
Then, teeing the audience up for the encore: “Now we have one last job to do. You guys need to be members of the band.”
Lou Gramm Makes Guest Appearance at Kelly Hansen’s Final Foreigner Show
Original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm, who left Foreigner in 2003, also guested with the band on Saturday. He made onstage appearances during the group’s recent Latin American run and had no shortage of praise for the current Foreigner lineup.
“I’ve been doing shows with them and I’ve been enjoying it a lot,” Gramm told UCR. “The band is excellent. They portray the songs [in a way that] an original member of Foreigner would be proud to play along with. They have their own style, but they stick close enough to the original [versions] where no one’s going, ‘Hey, where’s that part?’ So it’s a lot of fun.”
Who’s Taking Kelly Hansen’s Job in Foreigner?
Hansen, who joined Foreigner in 2005, announced back in May that he would be stepping away from the band at the conclusion of their 2025 summer tour. “Being the voice of Foreigner has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” Hansen said during the group’s appearance on the televised singing competition The Voice. “But it’s time to pass the mic.”
He’ll be passing the mic to Luis Maldonado, who has served as a multi-instrumentalist in Foreigner since 2021. Maldonado is familiar with the rigors of the job, as he handled lead vocals during Foreigner’s recent tour of Latin America when Hansen had to sit out as a result of residency issues.
“We’re gonna miss Kelly,” Gramm said to open Saturday’s show. “I was thrilled to work with Luis for a tour of South America earlier this year, and I know he’s got the goods to continue the tradition of this band for years to come.”
READ MORE: Watch Foreigner’s First Show With Luis Maldonado on Lead Vocals
Hansen added: [Maldonado has] been in this band five years, playing amazing guitar like you just witnessed and also singing all the really difficult high harmonies — which are, for any singer, challenging — and he’s done it with ease. And he has the grace, the style, the beauty and the vocal elegance to pull off these songs, which is a challenge, let me tell you.”
Founding Foreigner songwriter and guitarist Mick Jones — who has not performed live with the band since 2022 and last year revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — offered praise for Hansen and Maldonado in a recent press release.
READ MORE: Top 10 Foreigner Songs
“Kelly Hansen is one of the best frontmen in our business and over the last twenty years he has breathed new life into our songs,” Jones said. “His boundless energy and flawless talent has helped us climb the mountain and set up the opportunity for Foreigner vocalist and guitarist, Luis Maldonado, to bring us home. I wish Kelly great happiness in his next endeavors after our summer tour, and I look forward to welcoming Luis to his new position. Luis was my choice as a guitarist and he has already shown us what he can do on lead vocals by fronting the band in South America to incredible reviews.”
Foreigner have more North American tour dates, including an orchestral Las Vegas residency, lined up through March 2026. Bassist Jeff Pilson recently confessed that following Maldonado’s promotion to lead singer, they are no longer on a farewell tour.
Watch Foreigner’s Full Final Show With Kelly Hansen (Oct. 11, 2025)
Watch Kelly Hansen’s Foreigner Thank-You Speech + ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’
Foreigner – Oct. 11, 2025 at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey Set List
1. “Double Vision”
2. “Head Games”
3. “Cold as Ice”
4. “Waiting for a Girl Like You”
5. “Dirty White Boy”
6. “Feels Like the First Time”
7. “Starrider”
8. “Urgent” (Luis Maldonado on lead vocals)
9. Keyboard solo
10. Drum solo
11. “Juke Box Hero” (Luis Maldonado on lead vocals)
Encore
12. “I Want to Know What Love Is” (with Oakcrest High School Thespian Society) (preceded by Kelly Hansen’s speech)
13. “Hot Blooded”
Foreigner Albums Ranked
It’s hard to imagine rock radio without the string of hit singles Foreigner peeled off in the ’70s and ’80s.
Gallery Credit: Jeff Giles
