Chicago's newly-renovated FirstMerit Bank Pavilion, formerly known as Charter One Pavilion, was the setting for Friday's trip back into the 70's and 80's while classic rock groups Styx and Foreigner brought their "Soundtrack of Summer" tour to the city with special guest Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles.
Felder and his band opened the show with their own ten-song set and played a number of Eagles classics before bringing out two Styx members to finish things off with the Eagles hit "Hotel California".
Following Don Felder, Foreigner was next on the lineup and had everyone on their feet with their high-energy performance as soon as they took the stage.
Mick Jones, the only remaining original member of Foreigner, also made an appearance for half the show, despite recent health issues preventing him from playing as much.
Their encore even included the Elk Grove High School choir which added a local touch to their set.
Styx was the headliner for the evening and closed the show, entering the stage with a dramatic intro before beginning their set with "Grand Illusion".
Lead-vocalist and guitarist for Styx, Tommy Shaw, even made his way into the crowd to play one of his guitar solos.
Meanwhile, keyboard player and vocalist Lawrence Gowan, who joined the band in 1999 in place of the original Styx singer Dennis DeYoung, did a great job replicating DeYoung's music while adding his own progressive style.
Styx had almost everyone singing along from the first song of the night all the way until Tommy Shaw ended with "Renegade" before the band took their final bow.
If you didn't attend the show and haven't seen any of the three acts, I highly recommend seeing them. If you have, then see them again!
FirstMerit Bank Pavilion has definitely become a popular concert spot over the past year since it was renovated; Chicago's skyline was glowing in the background Friday evening as people of all ages enjoyed the music, adding even more to the experience for everyone attending.
For more information about the Soundtrack of Summer tour, including additional tour dates, visit http://www.soundtrackofsummer.com.
* I only included a handful of pictures from the show, please visit http://ajroccaforte.com/#/sos/ for the entire set of photos.
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