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Styx to Perform at The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort Jan. 19, 2014

Rockers Styx return to The Pearl inside Palms Casino Resort on Jan.19, 2014 at 8pm (Photo: © Scott Harrison / RETNA/ www.harrisonphotos.com). 

Styx – Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips, along with the occasional surprise appearance by original bassist Chuck Panozzo, have performed more live since ’99 than all of the previous years of its career combined. Two Super-Bowl appearances and Pollstar Box Office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Bad Company, to name just a few, two more studio albums and no end in sight, STYX continues to conquer the planet, one venue at a time.

Spawned from a suburban Chicago basement in the early ’70s, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late ’70s and early ’80s, due to a fondness for big rockers and soaring power ballads.

Early on, Styx’s music reflected such then-current prog rockers as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Moody Blues, as evidenced by such releases as 1972’s self-titled debut, 1973’s Styx II, 1974’s The Serpent Is Rising, and 1975’s Man of Miracles. While the albums and non-stop touring helped the group to build a substantial following locally, Styx failed to break through to the mainstream, until a track originally from their second album, “Lady” received substantial airplay in late ’74 on the Chicago radio station WLS-FM. The song was soon issued as a single nationwide, and shot to number six on the singles chart, as Styx II was certified gold. By this time, however, the group had grown disenchanted with their record label and opted to sign on with A&M for their fifth release overall, 1975’s Equinox. On the eve of the tour in support of the album, original guitarist John Curulewski left the band, and was INSERT d by Tommy Shaw. Shaw proved to be the missing piece of the puzzle for Styx, as most of their subsequent releases throughout the late ’70s earned at least platinum certification – 1976’s Crystal Ball, 1977’s The Grand Illusion, 1978’s Pieces of Eight, and 1979’s Cornerstone – and spawned such hit singles and rock radio standards as “Come Sail Away,” “Renegade,” “Blue Collar Man” and “Fooling Yourself.”

The band decided that their first release of the ’80s would be a concept album, 1981’s Paradise Theater, which was loosely based on the rise and fall of a once-beautiful theater, which was supposedly used as a metaphor for the state of the U.S. at the time – the Iranian hostage situation, the Cold War, Reagan, etc. Paradise Theater became Styx’s biggest hit of their career, selling more than three million copies in a three-year period, as they became one of the U.S. top rock acts due to such big hit singles as “Too Much Time on My Hands.”

A career-encompassing live album, Caught in the Act, was issued in 1984, before Styx went on hiatus, and the majority of its members pursued solo projects throughout the remainder of the decade. In the mid-’90s, a Styx reunion tour became a surprise sold-out success, resulting in the release of a live album/video, 1997’s Return to Paradise, while a whole new generation of rock fans were introduced to the grandiose sounds of Styx via a humorous car ad which used the track “Mr. Roboto,” as well as songs used in such TV shows as South Park and Freaks & Geeks.

Doors at the Pearl will open at 7 p.m. and show time is 8 p.m. The Pearl Box Office is open daily from noon until 7 p.m. with extended hours on select event days. Follow The Pearl on Twitter at @PearlatPalms for concert announcements and event information.

Tickets start at $40, plus any additional service fees.

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE PEARL

• October 12 – KORN; Tickets start at $49
• October 18 – Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck; Tickets start at $69
• October 19 – King of the Cage World Amateur Championships; Tickets start at $54
• October 25 – Mark Knopfler; Tickets start at $59
• October 26 – Alice In Chains – an evening with; Tickets start at $70
• November 2 & 3 – Bill Maher 2013 Residency; Tickets start at $45
• November 22 & 23 – Ringo Starr and the All Starr Band; Tickets start at $70
• November 27 – Alice Cooper; Tickets start at $49
• November 30 – John Legend with special guest Tamar Braxton; Tickets start at $49
• December 29 – Robin Thicke; Tickets start at $80
• January 18 – Lisa Lampanelli; Tickets start at $50
• January 19 – Styx; Tickets start at $40