PHOTOS + REVIEW — Styx 2026 ⋆ Shows I Go To | 🎤 Florida Concerts, Festivals, & Giveaways

PHOTOS + REVIEW — Styx 2026

Styx • Cheap Trick • February 27, 2026 • BayCare Sound, Clearwater, FL • Photos by Randy Cook — instagram.com/horns_raised

STYX LIVE REVIEW

Styx & Cheap Trick |February 27, 2026 | The BayCare Sound, Clearwater, FL

A much needed deluge of rain for the area could not keep classic rock fans from turning out in force to fill the BayCare Sound for a night of rock and roll royalty as Styx and Cheap Trick brought a combined one hundred plus years of rock history to the stage this evening. Sadly, the clouds prevented any view of a rare six-planet alignment in the night sky this evening. I had this date circled on my calendar thinking how amazing it would be to see this planetary wonder at this gorgeous waterfront venue in downtown Clearwater while enjoying many of the songs I grew up listening to.

Always interested in the attending crowd, I am curious about and pay attention to the age demographics of the Shows I Go To. As I expected, it was a multi-generational crowd on hand to celebrate timeless songs that have been shared between parents and their children. I find it interesting that both Styx and Cheap Trick have featured songs in the ‘Rock Band’ video game series which introduced the music of my age demographic, mid-50s, to a whole new generation of fans.

There was a slight weather related delay, as the hardest rain of the past several months was just as the venue was filling in. While Cheap Trick as a band isn’t “from” Tampa Bay, frontman Robin Zander has lived in Safety Harbor since the early 2000s, which gives the band an ongoing connection to the area. Cheap Trick was the headliner for the inaugural concert here at this venue in 2023. This was my fifth time seeing Cheap Trick and the band shows no sign of slowing down, delivering exactly what they have built their reputation on for over five decades. Sharp, hook-driven songs with a catchy sing along chorus.

As always happens, the first three songs the band opened with were a blur to me as I am up front taking photos and before I know it I am back in my seat to kick back and watch the show. The band has twenty one studio albums of material to pick from and the thing I notice at concerts is how every song that is played is someone’s favorite song and the one that they had hoped the most to hear. With over fifty years of history, the band members look fantastic for being in their early to mid 70s. The exception is Robin Taylor Zander, Robin Zander’s son who has performed with the band for over ten years now and contributed on several of their newer releases. For the song that Robin Taylor Zander sang, one of my friends leaned over and said it is amazing how much he sounds like his dad! Later in the set, it was great to see father and son share a microphone providing backing vocals together when bassist Tom Petersson was singing lead on ‘I Know What I Want’.

From here on out the crowd never sat down once the band started their monster hit ‘The Flame’, many couples began dancing in the aisles as it might have been “their song” from days past. Robin Zander can still hit those high notes of this song, and while he encourages the crowd to sing along he for sure does not need to rely on crowd’s help. That segued right into ‘I Want You to Want Me’, another of the band’s bigger hits and the dancing in the aisles intensified. Near the end of ‘Surrender’ there was an extended back and forth with the crowd and band exchanging multiple “We’re all alright!” repetition of the chorus.

When the flashing red and blue lights started before the intro to ‘Dream Police’ began, all I could think about was Mike Damone’s character in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’. In his scalper pitch trying to sell Cheap Trick tickets to a perspective client who does not seem to recognize the Cheap Trick name, he says “Can you honestly tell me you forgot? Forgot the magnetism of Robin Zander, or the charisma of Rick Nielsen?” then singing a short medley of Cheap Trick hits before being interrupted by another character. Just a personal laughable moment and how the song instantly equates to that movie scene for me. The band closed out their set thanking us fans for attending and setting the tone for Styx still to come.

What separates Styx from most classic rock acts is their mastery of anthemic song construction and choruses that you instantly recognize and know all the words to even if you have not heard that song in a while. Unlike many rock bands that rely on a single dominant voice, Styx builds a chorus through stacked harmonies. Styx formed in 1972 and the moment the band hits the stage and you expect to hear one of their radio hits to open the set and instead they start with a song off their latest release ‘Circling from Above’ and those first notes of ‘Build and Destroy’ help reinforce that the band is still writing, recording and evolving with relevant and fantastic new material. I looked this song up after the show because, as usual, my time up front snapping photos went by in what feels like the blink of an eye and I knew it was a song I did not recognize.

With eighteen studio releases which include sixteen Top 40 singles to fill out the setlist, Styx is a band whose live performances outshine their studio recordings and tonight was no different. This was my seventh time seeing Styx and the band continues to deliver in their live performances. More theatrical than your typical classic rock show, Styx adds a touch of flair with keyboardist and lead singer Lawrence Gowan slightly elevated on a spinning platform slightly off center of a clean and open stage. Musically, the band is incredibly tight and precise, delivering near studio quality sound on stage.

Once I was settled into my seat ‘Lady’ once again had couples up on their feet and swaying arm in arm. Guitarist Tommy Shaw intros ‘Crystal Ball’ with an acoustic guitar asking the crowd if they remember this song, how it was the first one he wrote and contributed to Styx. The thundering drums in this song has Todd Sucherman keeping the rhythm of the band in perfect timing. I did not notice when, but Tommy switched to an electric guitar and concluded this song to the first of a continual standing ovation from the crowd for the rest of the night. Lawrence said how that was the “…quintessential classic right there…” how that song has been in our heads now for FIFTY years! Band member introductions followed and a reminder of how us as fans being at the show tonight helps Styx give back to the community operating the non-profit organization Rock to the Rescue. Donations to win an autographed Styx guitar this night went to Piper’s Wings, a nonprofit charity founded by NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr. and MTJ Aviation to facilitate, fund, and operate critical organ transport and “mercy flights” for transplant recipients and their families. What a great cause!

Lawrence then says how it is “…time to turn this place into a party…”. Now attired in what I picture as a ringleader hat, he steps down off his keyboard platform to sing in between band members and interact with the crowd on ‘Rockin’ the Paradise’. He kicks the side of his keyboard to spin it around jumping back on the platform in perfect sync to have fingers on keys again as the song continues. From here on out it is a literal span of the greatest hits that Styx have released. When the band played ‘Best of Times’, I saw groups of people singing together so emotionally, giving me the feeling of people yearning for the simpler times when many of us were younger.

Joining the band for the last four songs was founding member, bassist Chuck Panozzo who helped establish the band’s early commitment to tight, rehearsed musicianship enabling a solid foundation to the layered complexity of their song construction I mentioned earlier. Personal opinion here, I think ‘Come Sail Away’ is arguably the song that defines Styx’s sound, showcasing everything the band does best. With its soft piano intro that progressively evolves into a massive singalong chorus, it has stood the test of time and continues to be a staple of classic rock radio and in the band’s live shows. How can you not sing along to Mr. Roboto? As soon as those instantly recognizable pulsing synth notes hit, you can feel a recognition from the crowd as we all sing in unison, “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto…” and just like that I am mentally transported back to the mid 1980s hearing this on the radio.

By the end of the show, Styx proved that their longevity is not built on nostalgia alone, but on a deep understanding of how to craft and deliver songs that still resonate in a live setting. Blending their precision musicianship with a theatrical flair and anthemic songwriting, they turned decades of classic hits into a shared, immersive experience in their live show, encouraging and feeding off audience sing along participation. The evening was more than just a trip down memory lane, it was a reminder for everyone in attendance why these songs have endured and why Styx remains a powerful force on the concert stage and how tonight, while the area desperately needed the rain, it did not put a damper that this night was indeed, part of the best of times, especially when shared with friends enjoying live music.

For upcoming Styx tour dates, see here.

Styx setlist for February 27, 2026:

Build and Destroy
Too Much Time on My Hands
The Grand Illusion
Lady
Great White Hope
Light Up
Lorelei
Crystal Ball
Rockin’ the Paradise
Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
The Best of Times
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Come Sail Away