Overview
Two of music’s biggest bands, legendary multi-Platinum rockers Chicago and Styx, got their start in Chicago, and now they’re joining together for their first-ever co-headlining tour, bringing the best of the Midwest to venues nationwide.
“We are excited about the summer tour,” says Chicago trumpeter Lee Loughnane. “Chicago has never toured with Styx before so it's going to be a lot of fun, we're looking forward to it.”
“In my early days of live performing I had several mentors who were kind enough to let me join in and play with them despite not being able to read charts,” adds Styx singer/guitarist Tommy Shaw. “Rod Henley, Ricky Parsons, Bobby and Larry Moore, Eddie Wohlford, Wimpy Jones, Country Boy Eddie and others gave me a shot. And I am thankful for that. By the time Chicago released their first album, I had enough experience to begin learning their amazing music on my own. Now, the idea of Styx touring with Chicago is a major thrill all on its own. We can’t wait to spend the summer with them!”
With more than 100 million albums sold worldwide, in addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the multi-Grammy Award-winning band has been hailed by Rolling Stone Magazine as one of the "most important bands in music since the dawn of the rock and roll era.” The legendary rock and roll band with horns, Chicago, came in as the highest charting American band in Billboard Magazine's Top 125 Artists of All Time. Chicago received The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the GRAMMYS and was previously inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame in 2014. They’ve earned two American Music Awards, been named Founding Artists of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a Chicago street dedicated in their honor, and keys to and proclamations from an impressive list of U.S. cities. Band members Robert Lamm and James Pankow have been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017. Further to that, the band has 21 Top 10 singles, five consecutive Number One albums, 11 Number One singles and five Gold singles, with a total of 49 gold and platinum awards.
Chicago have toured every year since the beginning, they’ve never missed a year. The original three band members are Robert Lamm on keyboards and vocals, Lee Loughnane on trumpet and vocals and James Pankow on trombone. The band line-up also includes Ray Herrmann on sax and flute, Wally Reyes, Jr. on drums, Neil Donell on vocals, Ramon "Ray" Yslas on percussion, Tony Obrohta on guitar and Eric Baines on bass and vocals.
From the signature sound of the Chicago horns, their iconic vocalists, and a few dozen ever-classic songs, this band’s concerts are celebrations. 2026 marks the band’s 59th consecutive year of touring.
Creating and recording new music is often considered the lifeblood of any band—an ethos AOR torchbearers Styx continue to embody with the highly anticipated release of CIRCLING FROM ABOVE, the 18th studio album in their formidable catalog via the band’s label, Alpha Dog 2T/UMe. Spanning 13 tracks, the album navigates the complexities of the human experience through the intersecting lenses of technology and nature. CIRCLING FROM ABOVE –hailed by critics as their third “masterpiece” album in a row, following 2021’s CRASH OF THE CROWN and 2017’s THE MISSION--features contributions from all seven members of the band, including founding guitarist/vocalist James “JY” Young (affectionately known as “The Godfather of Styx”), guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, longtime drummer Todd Sucherman, keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan, guitarist/vocalist Will Evankovich and bassist Terry Gowan.
The seven men comprising Styx have committed to rocking the Paradise together with audiences far and wide, and each one of them is committed to making the next show better than the last. They draw 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 majestic spiritual love for a special “Lady” to the seething indictment of preening, primping pageantry for pageantry’s sake of “Miss America,” from an individual yearning for true connection as a “Man in the Wilderness” to a soul-deep quest to achieve what’s at the heart of one’s personal vision in “Crystal Ball,” 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.
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