The Wichita Falls Memorial High School choir will give Foreigner's 50th-anniversary tour a local voice next Tuesday, September 29, when the students join the band onstage at Kay Yeager Coliseum. The 8 p.m. concert will feature arena-rock staples including “Juke Box Hero,” “Cold as Ice” and “Hot Blooded” during one of nearly 30 fall headlining shows.
The Wichita Falls Memorial High School choir will sing “I Want to Know What Love Is” with Foreigner, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Foreigner will donate $500 to the school's choir program. The concert's set list, as promoted by wfmpec.com, also includes “Urgent” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You.”
A local stage for music education
The choir's appearance places a school music program inside a campus that serves as a major regional events hub. According to a City of Wichita Falls naming-rights document, the MPEC campus—which includes Kay Yeager Coliseum, the J.S. Bridwell Agricultural Center and Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall—hosts more than 250 events across more than 415 event days annually and attracts more than 150,000 unique visitors through over 410,000 visits each year. Wichita Falls ISD's 2025-2026 course guide lists high school choral offerings including Treble Choir, Tenor-Bass Choir and audition-entry A Cappella Choir for grades 9-12.
The $500 contribution also reflects a broader funding challenge for school arts programs. Texas Monthly reports that fine-arts courses and activities often carry added costs for materials, instruments, uniforms and travel, with fundraisers and sponsorships sometimes helping districts meet those expenses.
Foreigner is occasionally joined onstage by a couple of original members from roughly 50 years ago, per the Star-Telegram's report, a nod to a band that has been through plenty of lineup changes since Mick Jones started it in 1976 in New York alongside Lou Gramm, Dennis Elliott, Al Greenwood, Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi, according to musiclifemagazine.net. Fifty years on, the group has racked up 10 multi-platinum albums, 16 Top 30 hits and more than 80 million records sold worldwide, according to journalist John Lappen as cited by the Star-Telegram, and the band is described by thecapitoltheatre.com as remaining a major presence on the charts.
The sound behind the catalog
Much of that sound runs through keyboardist and backup vocalist Michael Bluestein, who has held the role since 2008. Bluestein grew up listening to Foreigner and said he eagerly accepted an audition invitation from the band, per the Star-Telegram's account. He has training in classical music and jazz and studied at the Berkeley College of Music, that outlet reports — though musiclifemagazine.net quotes Bluestein saying he studied jazz piano at the Berkeley Music School in Boston, a discrepancy in how his musical education has been described across sources.
Bluestein's role reflects the prominent keyboard parts in songs such as “Cold as Ice,” “Urgent” and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” helping reproduce the layered arrangements that define Foreigner's recordings onstage.
Yamaha's artist profile credits Bluestein with playing vintage instruments including the Hammond B-3 and Rhodes as well as modern synthesizers, and identifies “I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Cold as Ice” and “Juke Box Hero” among the Foreigner songs he performs.
A Packed Touring Schedule for a 50-Year-Old Band
The Wichita Falls date is part of a busy year for Foreigner. Bluestein has said the band performs 90 to 100 shows annually, while nearly 30 headlining dates are planned for this fall after a tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. That report lists stops in Georgia, Virginia, Texas and California and says the band's 2026 schedule is expected to conclude in early November in Nevada. An expanded reissue of the 1979 album Head Games is also due in October.
Tickets and Showtime Details
A $50 ticket promotion covering taxes and fees ran from September 14 through September 21, according to wfmpec.com. Tickets remain available at the Riverstar Casino Box Office inside Ray Clymer Exhibit Hall, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by phone at 940-716-5555. Tickets are also available online through Ticketmaster.com, per the Star-Telegram's report. Doors open ahead of the 8 p.m. show at Kay Yeager Coliseum.
