by Jeff Clark, special to The Gazebo Gazette

MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST (GG) — With hits such as “Renegade,” “Lady,” “Come Sail Away,” “Too Much Time On My Hands,” and many others, the band Styx is still played on classic rock stations across the world. Styx has more than 4,000,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and its songs have been streamed over 100 million times and the band has cemented a place in American popular culture.

From iconic TV shows such as “The Goldbergs,” “The Office,” “South Park,” and “Freaks and Geeks” to tons of movies including “The Virgin Suicides” and “Detroit Rock City,” the music of Styx is everywhere, and the exposure is creating a newfound group of Styx fans.
“When I joined the band over 20 years ago, those cultural references had just begun,” said Styx vocalist and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan. “It began with a Volkswagen commercial that played ‘Mr. Roboto,’ but even more than that, it was an Adam Sandler movie called ‘Big Daddy,’ which used ‘The Best of Times.'”

J.Y. (Young), Tommy (Shaw), and Chuck (Panozzo) have said that just seeing those pop cultural references, the band has gotten a life expectancy in front of it now because younger people are beginning to let their music of choice be known. Younger people are also in positions of influence on the culture — people who were doing ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘South Park,’ ‘Ozark,’ and all of these other shows that used the music of Styx. That exposure has just expounded ever since and on any night, half the audience at our shows wasn’t even born when the biggest classic rock albums were made. And they have the same enthusiasm as people who grew up with this music. They see themselves in these songs somehow. They see themselves in the narrative of the lyrics. They know the melodies frontward and backward. So they can enjoy it the way we enjoyed it growing up.”
Gowan and the rest of Styx, Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Chuck Panozzo, Todd Sucherman, Terry Gowan, and Will Evankovich, returns to Coastal Mississippi for two shows on Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12, at the IP Casino. Ticket information for the shows can be found at Ticketmaster.com. The shows continue an annual tradition for Styx and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“Both shows are almost entirely sold out,” Gowan said. “Isn’t that great? You know what’s impressive? There is an insatiable demand for classic work, so it’s such a great gift because it keeps us sharp and the show at such a high level.”

While Styx fans will be able to sing along with many hits from the band’s catalog, Gowan said that concertgoers should not be surprised to hear a few songs from 2021’s “Crash of The Crown,” which was written and recorded during the height of COVID-19 pandemic.

“‘Crash of The Crown’ came out in 2021, and it reached number one on the Billboard Rock Album chart,” he said. “So for a band to be around for 50 years and achieve that with new music is something special. We have been playing some of the songs from the album live, and the crowd response has been great. I love to play the title track because I share lead vocals with Tommy and JY.”

The success of “Crash of The Crown” and the continued demand for live performances is keeping Styx very busy for the future. The band plans to release a new album and recently announced another high-profile summer tour of amphitheaters with former REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin and Don Felder. The “Brotherhood of Rock Tour” kicks off May 28 in Greenville, SC.
Additional information on the tour can be found at //www.livenation.com. The show lands in Brandon, MS, at the Brandon Amphitheater on Saturday, August 2.
“There’s a certain ambiance to summer shows where you’re doing them one after another that is pretty hard to beat,” Gowan said. “It’s a great atmosphere. And because we do it with a couple of our, you know, long-time friends, like Kevin Cronin and Don Felder, that just adds to the fun of it.”
(Photo by Jason Powell, picture of Styx – Todd Sucherman (drums, percussion), Lawrence Gowan (lead vocals, keyboards), Chuck Panozzo (bass, vocals), James “JY” Young (lead vocals, guitars), Tommy Shaw (lead vocals, guitars), Terry Gowan (bass, vocals), Will Evankovich Will Evankovich (mandolin, guitars)