Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner Celebrate Decades of Classic Rock at RBC Amphitheatre

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner landed at RBC Amphitheatre on Thursday, July 30, for a stop on their Double Trouble Double Vision Tour, and the double bill delivered exactly what a crowd shows up for: hit after hit, a few tributes that landed hard, and two bands that clearly still enjoy playing this stuff.

Canadian southern rock outfit Six Gun Sally opened the night, mixing their own songs with covers of “Piece of My Heart,” “Ramblin’ Man,” and “Somebody to Love.” It was a fitting warm-up for a bill built around American southern rock and classic rock staples.

Foreigner took the stage with a surprise: founding vocalist Lou Gramm came out first, not to sing, but to talk. He walked the crowd through the band’s 50-year history and introduced the current lineup before heading off, setting up the rest of the set.

From there it was “Double Vision” into “Head Games,” “Cold as Ice,” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” with the tour debut of “Say You Will” thrown in for longtime fans. Luis Maldonado handled lead vocals, backed by Jeff Pilson, Bruce Watson, John Roth, Michael Bluestein, and Chris Frazier. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” was dedicated to the fans before the band moved into “Urgent” and a keyboard and drum solo.

Then came the moment that’s become a fixture on this tour: the GCVI Chamber Choir from Guelph joined Foreigner onstage for “I Want to Know What Love Is,” part of the band’s long-running music education push. Dozens of young singers sharing a stage built for arena rock is the kind of thing that’s hard to script better.

Foreigner closed with “Long, Long Way From Home,” then brought Lou Gramm back out for “Hot Blooded” to send the set off.

After a short break, Lynyrd Skynyrd opened with “Workin’ for MCA” and moved through “What’s Your Name,” “That Smell,” “Saturday Night Special,” and “On the Hunt.” Johnny Van Zant worked the crowd between songs, pointing out that Foreigner had no shortage of love songs while Skynyrd’s catalog runs more toward life, stories, pride, and freedom. Then he told everyone to grab a hold of their ladies, because the band did have one good love song, and led into “I Need You.”

“Tuesday’s Gone” was dedicated to Gary Rossington, with vintage footage on the video screens under the words “our leader, our brother, our friend, for Gary.” The tribute closed on screen with “Gary Rossington 1951-2023. Your legacy lives on forever.”

“Simple Man” carried its own weight in Rossington’s absence too. He helped shape the sound of that song, and the crowd sang the chorus with phone lights up across the amphitheatre. Van Zant dedicated the song to American and Canadian troops and their families before it started.

“Sweet Home Alabama” had the whole venue on its feet, and the encore, of course, was “Free Bird,” the song everyone in the building had been waiting on all night.

Both bands leaned on their production to match the moment: smoke cannons through both sets, big video screens, and Skynyrd’s vintage visuals running underneath their older material. The tour also lines up with Foreigner’s 50th anniversary, marked recently by the release of their new live album, In the Eye of the Storm, out July 24 and featuring three eras of the band’s singers: Lou Gramm, Kelly Hansen, and Luis Maldonado.

A huge thanks to Steven Karas at SKH Music for the accreditation, and a special thank you to Mahlet Sintayehu at Live Nation for all of her hard work and support in making these media opportunities possible.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Foreigner

Six Gun Sally

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Drew Osborne

I’m Drew, the founder and editor of Front of the Stage. I have a strong love for music and photography, which started at a very young age. There’s just something I love about experiencing live music and capturing memories that will last a lifetime, and that’s how Front of the Stage came to be.