
Youngstown ,Ohio-The iconic rock group Styx , whose mega hit career that has spawned decades of rock anthems descended from the heavens to play a sold out show in Youngstown this week. The historic Stambaugh Auditorium has had many famous artists grace their stage in nearly 100 year history. Stambaugh has hosted a wide variety of performers, educators and speakers. Artists from Tony Bennett to Bob Dylan, American Ballet to Liberace, Bruce Springsteen to orchestras and countless others have all graced the main stage and on this day Styx was in town to rock the place. The event was made possible from the team behind Sunrise Entertainment , Marty Cohen and Ken Haidaris whose hard work and dedication is striving to keep music alive in the Warren/Younstown area and to this we salute them.
The evening started out with an inspiring performance from opening act Levon , a trio from Nashville, TN. The lights went dark and a hush went thru the crowd as the eagerly awaiting Styx hit the stage with a wall of sound .The first track of the night was “Gone, Gone, Gone” to be followed by their biggest hits and some fan favorites including , ” Blue Collar Man “, ” The Grand Illusion “, ” Lady” and many more . The musicianship, showmanship and pure joy coming of of the stage was transferred to the audience as smiles and air guitars rocked the place to the rafters.

The band is honestly one of the best bands I have ever seen and one not to be missed .The current line up is
- Chuck Panozzo – bass, backing vocals (1972-1984, 1990-1992, 1995-present)
- James “J.Y.” Young – guitar, backing and lead vocals (1972-1984, 1990-1992, 1995-present)
- Tommy Shaw – guitar, lead and backing vocals (1975-1984, 1995–present)
- Todd Sucherman – drums (1995–present)
- Lawrence Gowan – lead and backing vocals, keyboards (1999–present)
- Ricky Phillips – bass, backing vocals, guitar (2003–present)

Lawrence Gowan is one of the most talented and gifted vocalists I have ever heard and puts on a stellar show and included a melody of hits and stories including one about him and John Lennon’s piano to delight the crowd.

The evening continued with ” Snow Blind “, ” Come Sale Away ” and more including the fan favorite ” Renegade “. I give this show five out of five stars as I cannot find room for improvement . To learn more about Styx please check out the official website at http://www.styxworld.com