Jul 29, 2024 By Stephanie Kalina-Metzger 5 min read

Classic rock fans will be in their element when Styx joins Foreigner and John Waite on stage for its Renegades & Juke Box Heroes performance at the Pavilion at Star Lake in Burgettstown on July 31 at 6:45 p.m.

Lawrence Gowan, lead vocalist and keyboardist for the seven-person band, said that pairing with such a talented band as Foreigner was a no-brainer.

“It’s a great double bill,” he said about the band that achieved superstar status with hits like “Hot Blooded,” “Cold as Ice” and “Urgent.”

Styx has met many milestones in its career, with one of the more notable distinctions of being the first group to score four triple-platinum albums in a row for The Grand Illusion (1977), Pieces of Eight (1978), Cornerstone (1979) and Paradise Theater (1981). That may have been a long time ago, but not content to rest on its laurels, Styx continues to create.

In 2017, the band released its 16th studio album titled The Mission, which critics deemed “a masterpiece.” Following The Mission was Crash of the Crown, which was released in 2021. “It refers to a sense of renewal that occurs after a cataclysmic event,” Gowan said.

“What stands out to us is that our songs have withstood the test of time,” said Gowan, of songs like “Blue Collar Man,” “Lorelei,” and “Renegade,” which is played in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game to amp up the crowd. According to Gowan, fans in their 30s and 40s make up half the audience.

“The younger are the most vocal because classic rock has had such a lasting effect on us for half a century now,” Gowan said.

Both Foreigner and Styx more recently joined together to announce a limited-edition companion album to their “Renegades and Juke Box Heroes” tour, which will be available at all venues. The album is available as a picture disc, or in silver vinyl and is likely to be a collector’s item. Just 1,000 copies of the picture disc and 5,000 individually numbered copies of the silver edition are available.

Insights from a musician

Gowan, who joined the group in 1999, is excited to be able to play with his brother Terry, who recently came on board to assist with vocals and bass.

“I’m very proud to have my brother Terry join Styx,” said Gowan, adding that Terry played on four of Gowan’s six solo albums.

Gowan said when it comes to early musical influences, he’s like many other rock fans.

“Early on it was The Beatles who appeared on Ed Sullivan. Later it was the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix,” Gowan said, adding that when prog rock came on the scene, he was influenced by bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes and Genesis.

Gowan didn’t limit himself to those genres, however, and went on to study at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, where he earned an ARCT in classical piano performance.

“I started a month after graduating to play in my own band, and I have done so ever since,” said Gowan, who launched a successful solo career in Canada and won four platinum album awards, one gold single for “A Criminal Mind” and a gold album for “Lost Brotherhood.”

Gowan said two fortuitous encounters led him to where he is today.

“In 1997, a promoter asked me to open a show for Styx in Montreal. I played piano solo and the guys in Styx ended up seeing my performance and how much the audience of 17,000 seemed to enjoy it. A year later, the Styx drummer saw me playing “Healing Waters” in England at the opening of Princess Di’s memorial, so I came up on the list,” he said.

Gowan was also a prolific songwriter and began co-writing with Styx in 2003.

“When I had a solo career, I wrote 90% of the lyrics on my own and so I knew how that process worked,” said Gowan, saying that collaborating generally results in a superior product. “You always come up with a result you haven’t gleaned on your own because other personalities are involved, so what results is an amalgam of other influences,” he said.

Award-winning Central Pennsylvania cover band Honeypump plays Styx numbers during their sets. Lead guitarist/vocalist and founder Ritner Casey had the pleasure of seeing Styx in concert.

“They are always great,” he said, adding that Lawrence Gowan is “quite the talent.”

Stephanie Casey, lead singer/keyboardist for Honeypump, said Gowan isn’t just talented on vocals and keyboard, but he’s also great as a theatrical and energetic performer.

Gowan said he is always thankful for such loyal supporters and that music has been good to him throughout the years.

“The musical landscape has changed so much these days, so if I had to give advice to any aspiring musicians, I’d tell them to fall in love with music, use it as much as you can each day of your life and it will never let you down,” he said.