Styx Returning to Chicagoland in February

Coming off yet another successful year of touring, Styx is showing no signs of slowing down in 2019.

The group will be playing two shows in the Chicagoland area in February; one at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan on February 9th, and another at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet on February 12th.

The current Styx lineup has been getting on stage for 100+ shows a year and even recently released a new studio album.

That latest album, The Mission, was released in June of 2017 and was the band’s 16th studio album, and their first one in 14 years.

I recently got the opportunity to catch up with current Styx keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan, who’s been with the band since 1999 and is no stranger to performing live and making music.

“It’s quite euphoric, the adrenaline had to be kept in check” said Gowan, talking about the response from the audience after adding a few more songs from their latest album into their current setlist.

“It was perhaps the most satisfying applause that I’ve experienced in the last couple years.”

Curious about how some of the band’s new songs like ‘Gone Gone Gone’ and ‘Radio Silence’ tie into a setlist of classics that have been played live for decades such as ‘Come Sail Away’ and ‘Lady’, I asked Lawrence how it feels to have been playing those two songs live for the past year and a half now.

“It’s seamless, you don’t notice any bump in the road at all.”

With such a dedicated fan base, Lawrence says that he, along with the rest of the band, will feed off the energy from the audience when performing live, even on days they might be a little tired from doing three or four shows in a row plus rehearsals and traveling.

“During that first song I’ll think to myself, is there anywhere else on the earth that I’d rather be right at this moment than right here having this unfold? And the answer is, 100% of the time, no; this is it.”

And of course, there’s even more of that energy when performing for a hometown crowd here in the the Chicagoland area.

“There’s a sensibility of Chicago that ties perfectly to the attitude of this band.”

The Rialto and Genesee aren’t new venues to Styx either. The band has played both theatres a number of times in the past and are favorite places for them to return.

“Both of those theatres have a bunch of history tied to them, and a bunch of music has reverberated off those walls, but it’s rock that’s taking them over now and I love that.”

While tickets for the February 9th show in Waukegan are sold out, a limited number of tickets are still available for the February 12th show in Joliet through Ticketmaster.

For additional tour dates, visit styxworld.com.

Stay tuned to the Patch for a review and photos from both upcoming shows.

(Photo by Jason Powell)