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RED BANK: FOREIGNER RETURNS TO BASIE

foreignerSilver-haired Mick Jones leads the 2016 edition of classic rock institution Foreigner back to the Basie for a Monday date-night dose of acoustically arranged chart-toppers. 

From the Department of Everything Old is New Again, the Count Basie Theatre reports that Foreigner, the classic rock institution that regularly ruled both FM and AM waves in the late 70s and 80s, is “on a major roll right now” — owing to the download and streaming activity that accompanied their onetime Number One “I Want to Know What Love Is” when that 1984 ballad was featured prominently on the season finale of Orange is the New Black.

A summer 2015 tour with Kid Rock also served to introduce scads of new fans to the band/brand co-founded by guitarist Mick Jones back in the heyday of the corporate rock cash machine that gave us Journey, Boston, Toto and more. And when Jones and company return to the Basie Monday night for the latest in what’s working out to be an annual stand in Red Bank, they’ll be following up last winter’s sold-out electrified session with a special set that delivers “The Hits: Unplugged.”

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RED BANK: WHOLE LOTTA LOVE AT THE BASIE

BillyOceanShirleyEighties Brit hitmaker Billy Ocean and ’60s girl-group great Shirley Alston Reeves are among the faces of musical romance taking to the Count Basie stage in the Valentine nights to come. 

Even as the leprechauns and Peeps threaten to drive Valentine’s Day’s candy kisses from the seasonal aisles, Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre is gearing up for an extended holiday weekend of V-day vibrations: sounds that resonate from the school dances of the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s to the snapchat here and now.

It all begins this Friday, with the Red Bank debut of a familiar face and voice from the golden age of MTV — Billy Ocean, whose 1980s hits range from “Caribbean Queen” and “Loverboy” to “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” and the Jewel of the Nile soundtrack standout “When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going.”

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RBR CHOIR KNOWS WHAT LOVE IS, LIVE

The Red Bank Regional HS Choir made a guest appearance onstage with Foreigner at the sold-out Count Basie Theatre Wednesday night, joining lead singer Kelly Hansen and the band for their classic “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Check it out.