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Styx and REO Speedwagon are gearing up for 35-city summer trek, dubbed the “Live & unZoomed” tour with special guests Loverboy opening at all dates. Styx and REO will alternate headlining each night, and start the trek on May 31st in Grand Rapids, Michigan at Van Andel Arena, with the bands winding things down on August 21st at Wantagh, New York at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater.

Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw said in the tour announcement:

I can’t think of a better way of touring the USA next year than with good friends we’ve known for years and performed with on many a stage. What a great night of music this will be!

REO’s Kevin Cronin added:

Tommy (Shaw) and I have done a number of Zoom performances together during the pandemic, and REO and Styx are ready to go get UnZoomed, and out on the road for our fifth U.S. tour together. Add our great friends Mike Reno and the Loverboy guys, and I am totally psyched. If I wasn’t performing in it, I would totally come out to see this show. See you all, LIVE and UNZOOMED!

Loverboy frontman Mike Reno said:

We can’t wait to take the stage and rock this summer, it’s gonna be awesome. These are all the groups I grew up with, and I’m there too. Best tour of the summer — guaranteed.

Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw told us that the Styx-REO connection stems from his personal friendship with fellow Midwesterner, REO’s frontman Kevin Cronin: “Kevin and I ran into each other — we’ve known each other since, like, 1975, and it’s something we’d talked about. We ran into each other in 1998 at a MTV, at some kind of a game show that he and I were both on. And he wound up coming back over and I was doing 7 Deadly Zens at the time, and he said, ‘Let me come over and be on your solo album.’ So that was kind of the genesis of it, that ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we did this?’ But so many things had. . . the planets had to align. And they finally did, and once they did it was like a piece of cake.”

Kevin Cronin told us that out of countless musicians he’s known over the years — especially those he played with while growing up — he’s never forgotten how truly blessed he is to earn a living as a working musician: “I lucked out, man. I saw the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, decided that’s what I wanted to do — and I’m still doin’ it. And obviously, it’s the REO Speedwagon fans that have given me this great opportunity — and believe me; I don’t take it for granted for one second. And I try to thank them every night by givin’ them a great show and letting them know that I don’t take their support for granted.”

We asked the Loverboy lead singer Mike Reno how and why a band that hails from Calgary, Alberta can be treated like local “hometown” heroes in so many cities across the U.S.: “Y’know, that is really is amazing that you picked up on that, because we talk about it all the time. There’s some pockets in the U.S. that treat us like we’re homeboys and it’s so cool. Y’know what I think a lot of it stems from, is that they grew up listening to our music when they were going through school, or when they were going through college, or when they were getting married; and we’re a good memory. So, we’re part of their DNA, and I think people wanna pull things out that make them feel good and make them happy. The Loverboy days were happy days for most everybody, and we definitely try to keep it that way.”

JUST ANNOUNCED: Styx / REO Speedwagon / Loverboy tour dates (subject to change):

May 31 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
June 1 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
June 3 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 4 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 7 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheatre
June 8 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
June 10 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
June 11 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
June 13 – Rogers, AR – Walmart Amphitheatre
June 14 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
June 17 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
June 18 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amp
June 19 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
July 8 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
July 9 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
July 12 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
July 13 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheatre
July 15 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
July 16 – Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
July 19 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
July 20 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
July 22 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheatre
July 23 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
July 24 – Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 5 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheatre
August 6 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
August 8 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
August 10 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
August 12 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
August 13 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
August 16 – Toronto, ONT – Budweiser Stage
August 17 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
August 19 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
August 20 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
August 21 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater