Cranbrook’s biggest annual event, Sam Steele Days, is a celebration of the city’s history and culture, recognizing important figures in the region’s development such as Canadian hero Superintendent Sam Steele and Colonel James Baker.

This year, the event, which runs June 14-17, will celebrate events of the more recent past with a musical hero from the 1980s.

The ’80s were a decade of big ideas, big hair and big guitar riffs—usually in the same band. Lou Gramm, the voice of power rockers Foreigner, might know a little something about that, as would all of us who grew up listening to the singer.

Gramm’s 40-year musical career began in the ’70s, when he played in a number of New York-based rock bands that enjoyed local success but never managed to make the big time until he met future band mate, Mick Jones. Gramm and Jones became friends and musical compatriots and formed the band Foreigner, one of the seminal bands of the decade, and created a sound that would be emulated by up-and-comers. Songs such as Hot Blooded, Urgent, Cold as Ice, Waiting for a Girl Like You, and I Want to Know What Love Is were emblematic of the band’s sound, and Gramm’s distinctive voice kept Foreigner’s songs in the Billboard Top 100 for several years.

Gramm went solo in 1987 and released a number of hit singles, including Midnight Blue. He has also enjoyed success as the vocalist of the Lou Gramm Band (LGB), which includes his brother Ben in the line-up.

Gramm headlines at the Cranbrook RecPlex on the evening of June 16, and though the concert will undoubtedly be the biggest event of the weekend, there will be no shortage of other activities.

The annual Sam Steele parade brings participants from all over Western Canada and the Inland Northwest U.S. The bocce ball and baseball tournaments are hugely popular, as are the downtown events such as the Strongman Competition, Taste of Cranbrook, bike rally and more. Event organizers are anticipating that this will be one of the biggest and best Sam Steele Days in the city’s history.

Tickets for Lou Gramm are $45 and $55, and can be purchased by calling 1-800-222-6174. For more information on the concert or other Sam Steele Days events, visit www.samsteeledays.org.

For an interesting interview with Lou Gramm go to: https://smashinginterviews.com/interviews/musicians/lou-gramm-interview-foreigner-lead-singer-sets-the-record-straight-on-love

Above image from Smashinginterviews.com

Submitted

Article Share