Drummond High School Choir Shares Concert Stage With Foreigner
DULUTH, Minn. – A small Northland choir got the chance to share the stage with Rock n’ Roll legends.
The band Foreigner held a concert Friday at AMSOIL Arena, as part of their farewell tour. But for some songs, the soon to be Hall of Fame band was joined by the Drummond High School choir, who won a KQDS radio contest for the opportunity.
“The cool thing (is) Foreigner has been doing this for years, where they let choirs perform with them on stage,” says Choir Director Nick Kuka. “And so the fact that for our region, we will be potentially the last choir to ever get to do it for this area. It’s it’s an honor that is not wasted on us.”
Kuka adds that this moment should also be special for the kids in the choir. “I’ve told the kids how fortunate they are and that they have, you know, all these people rallying behind them, letting them know how proud they are of them. We just had before we left the school. Drummond has a strong tradition of doing a send off, and so every kid from kindergarten through 12th grade lined the hallways of our school, and all 50 of these kids came walking down the hallway with everyone cheering as a recognition of something special happening to represent our district.”
Foreigner bassist Jeff Pilson says it’s a special feeling to perform with younger generations. “It’s a fabulous feeling because you kind of get to see it through their eyes.
And so, you know, you have that a little bit of that experience going on. So it makes it very exciting and makes it very fun. And who knows, maybe we’re finding some future stars out there.”
As the band nears the end of their farewell tour, Pilson reminisces about how he was introduced to the band’s music. “Well, I want to say it feels like the first time was the first song I heard, because I remember hearing it and just thinking, what a funny whole song. I mean, it was it was. It blew me away. Actually. It totally blew me away. But, yeah, it was feels like the first time. And I guess it felt like the first time.”
Pilson says they are not retiring for good. They are not planning any additional major tours, but they may still potentially release new songs at some point in the future.
