Styx and Chicago <\/b>
\nTwo of the most successful American bands of the rock era are teaming up for a tour in which they share top billing. Formed in Chicago in 1972, Styx began as a progressive-leaning hard rock band, recording four albums for small label Wooden Nickel; those gained the group a following but didn\u2019t represent a commercial breakthrough. That break would come when Styx was picked up by A&M, releasing Equinox<\/i>, their first U.S. Gold record. A shift toward more pop-oriented material brought worldwide success: a string of five multi-Platinum selling albums and a raft of hit singles. Ballad-oriented songwriter Dennis DeYoung left in 1999; the band has continued as a harder-rocking act with peak-era guitarists James Young and Tommy Shaw still on board. Starting in 1967, fellow Midwesterners Chicago helped usher in the horn section as a component of rock music; along with numerous hit albums and singles, the group has earned five Grammys and induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The current ten-man touring lineup features founding member and multi-instrumentalist Lee Loughnane.<\/p>\n
Squeeze <\/b>
\nDebuting near the start of the new wave era in late \u201870s England, London-based Squeeze always stood apart from many of their contemporaries. With two very different lead singers \u2013 both excellent songwriters whom critics sometimes compared to Lennon and McCartney \u2013 the band combined sharp melodies with wry lyrics. Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook ave co-helmed the group since its start, a timeline punctuated with extended hiatuses. A major influence on the more tuneful end of the \u201ccollege rock\u201d and alternative rock scenes, Squeeze\u2019s tours often provided a springboard for other groups (including Dire Straits, R.E.M., U2 and XTC) to come to prominence. While the band\u2019s commercial apex came in the \u201880s with hits like \u201cCool for Cats,\u201d \u201cUp the Junction,\u201d Tempted\u201d (with short-term vocalist Paul Carrack on lead vocals) and \u201cBlack Coffee in Bed,\u201d Squeeze continues to this day with a focus on both live work and studio releases. The band\u2019s latest record, Trixies<\/i> is a concept album \u2013 and number-one charting record in the UK \u2013 featuring songs Difford and Tilbrook composed more than 50 years ago when both were London teenagers.<\/p>\n
Weezer <\/b>
\nDebuting in the early 1990s, Los Angeles-based quartet Weezer showcased a winning combination of alt-rock, power pop and a dose of punk. That mix earned early success for the band: \u201cUndone \u2013 The Sweater Song,\u201d \u201cBuddy Holly\u201d and \u201cSay it Ain\u2019t So\u201d all stormed the US Modern Rock singles charts, reaching the Top Ten. The album that spawned those songs, Weezer<\/i> (also known as The Blue Album<\/i>) sold more than five million copies in the U.S. alone. a million-seller. The band\u2019s followup album, 1996\u2019s Pinkerton<\/i> was widely considered a critical and commercial disaster, but still sold a million copies (as did both a 2001 album known as The Green Album<\/i> and 2005\u2019s Make Believe<\/i>). The group has persisted since then, with a raft of color-coded album covers and titles. In 2022 Weezer released four albums in the space of ten months. Their latest, yet again titled Weezer<\/i> (also to be known as The Gold Album<\/i>) was released in August. A lead single \u201cC.E.O.\u201d is being touted as a sequel to \u201cUndone \u2013 The Sweater Song.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynyrd Skynyrd<\/b>
\nThe quintessential Southern rock band, Lynyrd Skynyrd got their start in late \u201860s Jacksonville, Florida, as part of the same musical scene that would eventually bring forth the Allman Brothers Band. The group landed a record deal in the early 1970s, working with Blood, Sweat & Tears founder Al Kooper to produce their million-selling debut album. The spotlight track on Pronounced ‘L\u0115h-‘n\u00e9rd ‘Skin-‘n\u00e9rd<\/i> was \u201cFree Bird,\u201d a long song with an extended jam (with three guitars) that soon went on to become a staple of FM radio and an anthem of \u201870s rock. Four more hit albums would follow, but a plane crash in rural Mississippi took the lives of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and four others. After a decade-long hiatus, Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed with Johnny Van Zant (Ronnie\u2019s younger brother) taking over as lead singer. The group returned to touring and (for a time) releasing new records; 2012\u2019s Last of a Dyin\u2019 Breed<\/i> is their most recent studio release. The current lineup features Van Zant plus Rickey Medlocke (a member of the band from its early days) plus seven comparatively newer members.<\/p>\n
Coheed and Cambria<\/b>
\nWith a deft mix of progressive rock, metal, post-hardcore and alt-rock, upstate New York band Coheed and Cambria combines ambitious projects \u2013 often in the form of thematically-linked concept albums \u2013 with a powerful and complex musical character. While the peak era of progressive rock is generally thought to have long since come and gone, Coheed and Cambria put the lie to that assumption: six of their 11 albums to date have climbed to the Top Ten on the Billboard<\/i> 200 chart. The group\u2019s Vaxis<\/i> trilogy \u2013 2018\u2019s The Unheavenly Creatures<\/i>, 2022\u2019s A Window of the Waking Mind<\/i> and The Father of Make Believe<\/i> from 2025 \u2013 follow on with a story line established in 2012 with a pair of albums as part of a concept called The Afterman<\/i>, itself part of a larger story known as The Amory Wars<\/i>. Critics tend to agree with fans, giving high marks to Coheed and Cambria\u2019s songwriting and musicianship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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