Styx, Foreigner return to The Woodlands

Two of music's most iconic rock acts return to Texas this week for one of the hottest concerts of the summer.

Styx and Foreigner, along with special guest John Waite, will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations for all ages.

Foreigner is currently in the middle of its farewell tour that began in the summer of 2023, and Gowan and his bandmates in Styx are rejoining their old friends on the road for another summer of music and fun. The groups trekked across the U.S. in the summer of 2014 and are doing it once again.

"Kelly (Hansen) of Foreigner and I were doing a TV interview the other day and we were talking about that," said Lawrence Gowan of Styx during a telephone interview. "He reminded me that it was 10 years ago this summer that we toured together. I can't get over the fact that it's been that long."

The current "Renegades and Juke Box Heroes" tour started on June 11 in Grand Rapids, Mich., and rolls into Dallas on Friday, June 21, and then The Woodlands this Saturday. Gowan could not hide his enthusiasm about the co-headlining tour.

"If these first few shows are any indication, this is going to be a spectacular tour," he explained. "It's amazing to see the overall spirit of the fans for both bands. Hopefully, we can meet those expectations every night because this tour is basically a greatest hits tour. You have two bands with easily over three hours of hit songs, and every fan knows every note. Four hours when you count John Waite's material.

"We're also aware that there may be Styx fans that have never seen Foreigner in concert, and there are some Foreigner fans who have never seen Styx before," Gowan continued. "There are also a lot of younger people who have embraced these songs and are coming to the shows, so we are taking full advantage of the production and made it as big as we can get it each night."

The group is comprised of Gowan on keyboards and vocals; James "JY" Young and Tommy Shaw, guitars and vocals; Todd Sucherman, drums; Will Evankovich, guitars; as well as original bassist Chuck Panozzo who appears and performs from time to time with the band. However, the group has a new face as its full-time bassist this year.

Long time bassist Ricky Phillips announced his departure from the band earlier in 2024 for personal reasons. In mid-May, Styx announced Terry Gowan as the group's new bassist, who just happens to be the brother of Lawrence Gowan and a renowned musician in his own right.

Terry has performed as the bassist of Lawrence's band, Gowan, from 1985 to 1990 and returned in 2010 to the present. He has also performed on recordings with numerous recognized artists such as Jon Anderson, Tony Levin and Alex Lifeson, among others.

"When (Terry's) name was brought up it just made sense," Gowan said. "I didn't say anything during all of the discussions, but the fact that the other guys knew what an amazing musician he is made the decision easy. He is slaying the shows every night and he fits right in with the band. It's been great to have him be a part of this."

For more than 50 years Styx has been a key fixture in the landscape of American rock and roll. Over the course of their carrer, Styx has released more than 30 singles, such as "Renegade," "Blue Collar Man," "Too Much Time," "Crystal Ball", "The Grand Illusion" and so many more.

The band is still touring in support of its June 2021 release, "Crash of the Crown," which is the group's 17th studio album and peaked at number one on the Billboard Rock Albums chart, and number five on the Top Current Albums chart, and features the title track and "Reveries" as its singles.

However, Gowan said the band is not done yet with performing or recording.

"We are on tour a lot," he said. "We perform over 100 shows each year. A live rock show is the greatest form of entertainment there is. The way it makes you feel is like nothing else. You can't get that feeling watching a video on You Tube. It is something that has to be experienced.

"We have a lot of touring left to do, but, toward the end of the year, we hope to do some more studio work," he concluded. "We'll see where things go from there."

Visit http://www.styxworld.com for more information about Styx and the band's current tour.