One of the biggest names in rock and roll, Styx, will perform live at Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, MI, with special guest John Waite on October 8, 2024. Tickets will go on sale on Friday, August 30 at 10 a.m. at LiveNation.com. Styx last performed at Wings Event Center on October 6, 1979, making this their first time at the venue in 45 years.
Styx draws from over five decades of barn-burning chart hits, joyous singalongs, and hard-driving deep cuts. Like a symphony that builds to a satisfying crescendo, a Styx set covers a wide range of stylistic cornerstones. From the progressively sweeping splendor that is “The Grand Illusion” to the hunker-down fortitude of all that is the “Blue Collar Man,” from the regal reach-for-the-stars bravado of “Come Sail Away” to the grainy all-in gallop of that rugged “Renegade” who had it made, the band draws on an unlimited cache of ways to immerse one’s mind and body in their signature sound.
The seven men comprising Styx--James “JY” Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards), CRASH OF THE CROWN producer and co-writer Will Evankovich (guitars), Terry Gowan (bass, vocals)--have committed to rocking the Paradise together with audiences far and wide by entering their second decade of averaging 100 shows a year, and each one of them is committed to making the next show better than the last.
Styx released their 17th studio album in 2021, CRASH OF THE CROWN, which was written pre-pandemic and recorded during the trying times of the pandemic. Styx’s holy mission for cutting CRASH OF THE CROWN, hailed by critics as a “masterpiece,” was crystal-clear to its co-creator from the get-go. “Absolutely no obstacles were going to get in the way of how we approached creating this album,” singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw concludes about the herculean recording efforts of his fellow COTC makers. “And everything came out exactly the way we wanted to hear it.”
After more than two decades together on the road, this incarnation of Styx is looking forward to performing as many shows as it can as long as it can.
“Music is this amazing force that comes from a higher place. I'm humbled for this band to have the great success that it has,” says co-founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young.
“The legacy of this band will be that it brought joy to millions of people,” notes drummer Todd Sucherman.
Observes keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, “We’ve always tried to explain why this is this happening. It’s obviously a multitude of factors, but the main one is that our show is really good! And if it’s really good, they’re going to come to see it again.”
Styx hopes it’s a wave that never crests.
“Every night, we go on that magic carpet ride together,” observes original bassist Chuck Panozzo, who joins the band on tour as often as he can.
“We just want to keep on doing this,” asserts Tommy. “We want to let life take its course and let this music continue to be the soundtrack to it. And this band will continue to evolve as long as we live and play this music.”
