Singer/songwriter Sam Beam, a.k.a. Iron & Wine, and Band of Horses frontman Ben Bridwell have released a new duet rendition of the classic 1984 Foreigner ballad “I Want to Know What Love Is.” The tune is the second track the duo has made available from their new collaborative EP, Making Good Time.
Making Good Time is a five-song collection of eclectic cover tunes that’s being released on Friday, September 12. The EP is available as a limited-edition vinyl disc and via digital formats. The vinyl EP features a custom etching on its B side.
[RELATED: Iron & Wine and Band of Horses’ Ben Bridwell Releasing New Covers EP; Check Out Duo’s Version of the Kendrick Lamar Smash “Luther”]
Iron & Wine and Bridwell offer up a delicate acoustic version of “I Want to Know What Love Is.” The track includes a mournful horn solo.
According to a statement from Iron & Wine, it was Making Good Time producer Brad Cook’s idea for the duo to cover the Foreigner smash.
“Brad Cook suggested this one and the little kid in me who remembers skating around the roller rink in the 80’s imagining he was Lou [Gramm] sat up and said ‘Yes, let’s do it!’” the singer/songwriter shared. “Such an amazing chorus! Our version ended up sounding a bit desperate and dark, not sure why I was kinda surprised.”
More About the Making Good Time EP
Prior to the Making Good Time EP, Beam and Bridwell, who are childhood friends, recorded a full-length covers album titled Sing into My Mouth, which was released in 2015.
The other songs on the EP are versions of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” the Kendrick Lamar and SZA duet “Luther,” Roxy Music’s “More Than This,” and boygenius’ “Ketchum, ID.”
Iron & Wine and Bridwell released there cover of “Luther” as the first advance track from the EP.
Beam and Bridwell recorded the project earlier in 2025 in North Carolina with Cook, a Grammy-nominated producer/multi-instrumentalist. The duo collaborated with Cook and his house band to, according to a press release, “channel the easy, lived-in feel of a shared mixtape amongst friends.”
More About “I Want to Know What Love Is”
“I Want to Know What Love Is” appeared on Foreigner’s fifth album, Agent Provocateur, which was released in December 1984. The song was written by Foreigner founder, guitarist, and principal songwriter Mick Jones. The single spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1985.
About Band of Horses and Iron & Wine’s Upcoming Joint Tour
Band of Horses and Iron & Wine will be promoting Making Good Time on a brief U.S. co-headlining tour. The shows will feature sets by both acts, as well as a collaborative set that will include songs from Beam and Bridwell’s two releases, plus “a few surprises.”
The 12-date trek will visit various Western U.S. cities. The outing kicks off September 18 in Seattle and runs through an October 3 concert in Santa Barbara, California.
Prior to the joint trek, Iron & Wine and Band of Horses have separate festival performances on their schedules.
Iron & Wine will be playing the Bourbon & Beyond festival on September 12 in Louisville, Kentucky. Band of Horses are part of the September 13 lineup of Borderland Festival in East Aurora, New York.
After the tour, Iron & Wine has headlining shows lined up on October 17 in Aspen, Colorado; October 18 in Denver; and October 20 in Jackson, Wyoming. He also will be performing at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in Australia in March 2026.
Visit IronandWine.com and BandofHorses.com to check out their full list of dates.
(Photo by Kim Black; Photo by Taylor Fickes)
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