Styx is joining forces with longtime REO Speedwagon frontman Kevin Cronin and ex-Eagles guitarist Don Felder for a 2025 North American trek dubbed the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour.
Videos by American Songwriter
The outing will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Styx and REO Speedwagon’s first joint tour. The trek currently features 40 dates, running from a May 28 concert in Greenville, South Carolina, through an August 24 show in Milwaukee.
Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public starting Friday, December 13, at 10 a.m. local time. A pre-sale opportunity for Citi card members will be available starting Monday, December 9, at 10 a.m. local time; visit CitiEntertainment.com. for more information.
Styx, Cronin, and Live Nation, meanwhile, will be offering VIP packages via exclusive pre-sales beginning Tuesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. local time.
The announcement of the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour also confirms that all of the members of REO Speedwagon’s current touring lineup, including Cronin, will be moving forward together after the band completes an apparent final trek that wraps up in December 2024.
The statement about the tour reveals that Cronin’s backing band feature longtime REO lead guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt, as well as the group’s touring keyboardist Derek Hilland and bassist Matt Bissonette.
Why REO Speedwagon Will No Longer Tour
Cronin recently announced that starting in 2025, he will begin performing as a solo artist because of a conflict with longtime bassist Bruce Hall. In September, REO issued a statement explaining that the band would be retiring from touring because of “irreconcilable differences” between Hall and Cronin.
Hall had stopped touring with REO after undergoing back surgery in the fall of 2023, and Bissonette was brought in as his replacement while he recuperated. Bruce eventually felt he was ready to tour again, but Cronin and other members of the group apparently didn’t agree.
Hall apparently has a say whether REO Speedwagon can tour under that moniker without him, and it seems he was unwilling to do that. Instead, it appears, Cronin will take the rest of the band on the road as his backing group. The poster for the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour has him listed as “Kevin Cronin, Former Lead Singer/Songwriter of REO Speedwagon.”
As REO Speedwagon, the band still has six more shows scheduled for December. Their trek will wind down with a three-date Las Vegas residency at the Venetian resort on December 18, 20, and 21.
Tickets for REO Speedwagon’s remaining concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
Cronin also has one “solo” show scheduled before the tour with Styx, on Jan 25, 2025, in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
Styx and Cronin’s Humorous Tour Announcement Video
In conjunction with announcing the “Brotherhood of Rock” tour, a humorous promo video debuted on Live Nation’s YouTube channel. The clip begins with Cronin and Styx’s Tommy Shaw being zapped into each other’s bodies for some reason.
A confused Cronin, in Shaw’s body, walks into Tommy’s kitchen to find Styx keyboardist Lawrence Gowan cooking up stacks of pancakes and offering him an espresso.
Then Shaw, in Cronin’s body, gets a phone call from Amato, who asks Kevin (really Tommy) what their band’s plans are for 2025. Another scene has a befuddled Cronin, still in Shaw’s body, hanging with Gowan and fellow Styx member Will Evankovich as they play a version of the classic Styx tune “Renegade” and compliment him on how good his voice sounds.
Eventually, Cronin and Shaw wind up in each other’s bathrooms, where they see themselves in the mirror, and then get zapped back into their own bodies. Cronin and Shaw then call each other at the same time and leave a messages on voicemail suggesting that they tour together again in honor of the 25th anniversary of Styx and REO’s first joint trek.
“Brotherhood of Rock” Tour Dates:
5/28 – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena
5/31 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6/2 – Jacksonville, FL @ Daily’s Place
6/4 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater
6/6 – The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
6/7 – Ridgedale, MO @ Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
6/9 – Denver, CO @ Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
6/11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
6/13 – Concord, CA @ Toyota Pavilion at Concord
6/14 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater
6/15 – Ridgefield, WA @ RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
6/28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
6/30 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Ford Amphitheatre
7/2 – Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre
7/5 – Birmingham, AL @ Coca-Cola Amphitheater
7/6 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
7/8 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
7/9 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
7/11 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
7/12 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
7/14 – Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
7/15 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
7/18 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
7/19 – Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
7/20 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
8/1 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8/2 – Brandon, MS @ Brandon Amphitheater
8/4 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater
8/6 – Richmond, VA @ Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront
8/8 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
8/10 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake
8/12 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
8/13 – Toronto, ON, Canada @ Budweiser Stage
8/15 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
8/16 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
8/19 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
8/20 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center
8/22 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/23 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
8/24 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
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