A music legend from Rochester says 2026 will be his final year rocking out.
Lou Gramm, the original voice of Foreigner, said in a new interview that he plans to finally retire from performing next year. He’s previously retired and come back, even once joking that he’d work at his hometown Wegmans instead of touring, but told Ultimate Classic Rock that he’s finally hanging up his microphone soon.
“I’ve been doing this over 54 years, (including with my initial group) Black Sheep,” Gramm told UCR. “I just feel like there’s some other things that I want to do. I want to spend more time with my children — my older children and my younger child — and spend more time playing with my cars while I’m still capable of driving.”
“[I’d like to] just stay off the road and enjoy my home, the surroundings and my family and friends, something that I’ve had to sacrifice for over 50 years,” he adds. “I’ve done all there is to do I feel. And being in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are huge milestones for me. You know, I think in this business, you just know when it’s time.”
Gramm, 75, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Foreigner last year. The honor helped repair Gramm’s relationship with the classic rock band and injected new energy into their music.
Gramm, a Rochester native, put off earlier plans to retire in 2025 to do a series of solo concerts and special appearances with Foreigner. He’s performed alongside new lead vocalist Luis Maldonado, who replaces longtime Foreigner frontman Kelly Hansen after Hansen made his final appearance with the band on Saturday. Foreigner co-founder Mick Jones is the only original member still in the group, but no longer performs due to Parkinson’s disease.
“I’ve been doing shows with them and I’ve been enjoying it a lot. The band is excellent. They portray the songs [in a way that] an original member of Foreigner would be proud to to to play along with,” Gramm told UCR. “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.”
Foreigner previously launched a farewell tour in 2023 but recently admitted that they have no plans to call it quits, even with the departure of Hansen. The band recently reissued its 1981 album, “4,” featuring a previously unreleased song (“Fool if You Love Him”) with Gramm and other rarities, plus launched a new jukebox musical.
Gramm, who still lives in Webster, N.Y., graduated from Gates-Chili High School in 1968 and attended Monroe Community College before pursuing a music career. He left Foreigner in 1990 and again in 2003, opting for a solo career.
Foreigner is best known for 1970s and ‘80s hits like “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Hot Blooded,” “Feels Like the First Time,” “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” and “Cold As Ice.” The band performed at the Turning Stone Event Center in Verona last month and has tour dates booked through May, but currently has no upcoming Upstate New York concerts scheduled.