BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:SoDel
X-WR-CALNAME:Styx
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:355502026-10-02
DTSTART:20261002T230000Z
SEQUENCE:0
TRANSP:OPAQUE
DTEND:20261002T040000Z
LOCATION:31806 Lake View Drive\nSelbyville DE 19975
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=31806 Lake View Drive\nSelb
 yville DE 19975;X-APPLE-RADIUS=49;X-TITLE=31806 Lake View Drive:geo:38.466
 017,-75.112054
GEO:38.466017;-75.112054
SUMMARY:Styx
CLASS:PUBLIC
DESCRIPTION:Creating and recording new music is often considered the lifebl
 ood of\nany band — an ethos AOR torchbearers Styx continue to embody wit
 h\nthe release of Circling From Above\, the 18th studio album in their\nfo
 rmidable catalog. Spanning 13 tracks\, the album navigates the\ncomplexiti
 es of the human experience through the intersecting lenses\nof technology 
 and nature. The album\, the band’s third in eight\nyears\, delivers a 41
 -minute\, end-to-end listening experience that is\nboth thought-provoking 
 and exhilarating. A masterclass in\nstorytelling\, it blends signature Sty
 x hallmarks with bold steps\nforward — building on the creative momentum
  of recent releases The\nMission (2017) and Crash of the Crown (2021). Dri
 ven by the kinetic\nenergy of lead single “Build and Destroy\,” the al
 bum is\nimmediately available to fans at StyxWorld.com\, the Universal Mus
 ic\nWebstore and all tour stops of Styx’s “Brotherhood of Rock”\ntou
 r\, which kicks off tonight in Greenville\, S.C. The album’s\nofficial p
 ublic release date is set for July 18. Styx has remained a\ntouring jugger
 naut for the past 25 years\, but according to\nguitarist/vocalist Tommy Sh
 aw\, the band’s current streak of artistic\nresurgence in the studio is 
 due to multiple factors tethered to a deep\nsense of harmony. “There’s
  just a lot of positive flow right\nnow\,” says Shaw. “There’s a lot
  of people playing great\, and\nthere’s a lot of love\, respect and exci
 tement about each other’s\ntalents. Bands can go lifetimes and never hav
 e this kind of rapport\nand chemistry.” Circling From Above features con
 tributions from all\nseven members of the band\, including founding guitar
 ist/vocalist James\n“JY” Young (affectionately known as “The Godfath
 er of Styx”)\,\nShaw\, original bassist Chuck Panozzo\, drummer Todd Suc
 herman\,\nkeyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan\, and newest members Will\nE
 vankovich (guitars and vocals) and Terry Gowan (bass). The album was\nprod
 uced by Evankovich\, who also helmed the band’s previous two\nrecords be
 fore becoming an official member. All 13 songs were penned\nin various com
 binations by the band’s songwriting triumvirate of\nShaw\, Evankovich an
 d Lawrence Gowan. Referencing the trio’s creative\nspark\, Lawrence Gowa
 n says it’s not a simple case of majority rules\nbut rather a true colla
 borative endeavor. “I’ve noticed over the\nlast three records\, there
 ’s a real effort to make sure everyone’s\ngot a smile on their face at
  the end of it\,” he says. “There’s\ncreative friction\, but everybo
 dy gets a go around the table and we all\nget a swing at the tree. And tha
 t’s really\, really good.”\n“It’s a strange three-way democracy fo
 r sure\,” Evankovich says.\n“We all know that the institution of Styx 
 is the most important\nthing.” Circling From Above is a dynamic collecti
 on that reflects\nthe full emotional and stylistic range of the Styx canon
 . It’s\nmuscular yet introspective\, theatrical in moments and layered i
 n\nsincerity at others — balancing progressive leanings with deeper\,\nt
 hought-provoking messages. “When you start writing an album\,\nthere's g
 enerally something that piques your imagination\, and all of a\nsudden\, y
 ou’re a storyteller starting with the seed of a story\,”\nsays Shaw. 
 “A good song is like a straight road — it’ll get you\nto the next pl
 ace.” Midway through writing the album\, a loose theme\nbegan to orbit t
 he band’s creative process — a gravitational pull\,\nif you will\, gui
 ding them down the straight road Shaw describes. In a\nmoment of studio se
 rendipity\, talk turned to an app that tracks\nabandoned satellites\, thos
 e silent relics of once-lofty ambition. From\nthat spark\, the opening tra
 cks — including the title cut and\n“Build and Destroy” — took shap
 e\, tracing the tension between\nhuman ingenuity and the dreams we sometim
 es discard in its pursuit.\n“When they were shot up into space\, these s
 atellites were\nsomebody’s dream and ambition\,” says Shaw of the once
 -cutting-edge\ntechnology now floating aimlessly through the atmosphere. 
 “They\nserved their purpose and they were cast aside. It’s a wasteland
  up\nthere\, but they were once created with love. We’re all humans\, an
 d\nwho’s to say our love project is better than someone else’s?”\nLo
 ok closely at the album cover art and you will see this thematic\noverture
  take flight. Thousands of starlings — chosen specifically\nfor their su
 preme ability to work in concert together with their\nflight patterns — 
 in the shape of one bird\, soaring over a\ndilapidated satellite dish. “
 They’re prevailing and we’re\nfailing\,” notes Evankovich of the cov
 er. “We’re not like the\nrest of the creatures that work in stewardshi
 p together\, like the\nbirds and the bees and all the other things. We do 
 things and then\ncreate waste for ourselves that ends up harming us.” Fa
 ns will\ndiscover no shortage of standout tracks on Circling From Above\, 
 a\nhandful of which could end up as singles or be prime candidates for\nin
 clusion in an expanded live set once the “Brotherhood of Rock”\ntour 
 — during which Styx will be playing “The Grand Illusion”\nalbum in f
 ull — concludes in late August. “Forgive\,” the likely\nsecond singl
 e\, is a perfect example of the current writing collective\,\nfeaturing an
  emotional core\, tradeoff lead vocals by Shaw and Gowan\,\nand a perfectl
 y crafted emotive guitar solo by Evankovich. “That\nintro with an acoust
 ic guitar and Tommy singing is a signature Styx\nthing\, whether it’s 
 ‘Crystal Ball\,’ ‘Radio Silence\,’ or any\nof the others he does\,
 ” Evankovich says. “That’s just classic.\nGive me an acoustic guitar
  and Tommy Shaw’s voice and I’m sold!”\n“Michigan” is a song Sha
 w and Evankovich wrote back in 2011 about\nthe internet’s power for both
  good and bad. The song exudes a\nfrenetic tension and was written in the 
 style of a James Bond movie\ntheme. “It’s Clear” is another radio-fr
 iendly tune with brooding\nverses\, powerful\, melodic choruses and a bewi
 tching breakdown segment\nin the middle. “It’s Clear” also has the d
 istinction of being\njust the second Styx song to feature three separate l
 ead vocal\nperformances\, with Gowan\, Shaw and Evankovich all taking a pr
 imary\nturn at the mic. “That’s a fun song\,” Shaw says. “It’s l
 ike\na maze.” Young makes a mark with his trademark baritone lead vocal\
 non “King of Love\,” a song written specifically for him\, and the\nla
 st one recorded for the album. In addition to his booming vocal\, he\nplay
 s a blistering guitar solo\, even using the original G5 Strat he\nplayed o
 n Styx’s debut album in 1972. \"When JY gets going\, he’s\nhard to sto
 p\,” says Evankovich. “The Beck/Hendrix/Clapton love\nchild exudes Chi
 cago blues. It’s always a joy to see the\nimprovisation take shape in th
 e studio with him.\" Diversity runs\nrampant on the second half of the alb
 um as Styx pays homage to its own\nroots while also giving pointed tips of
  the cap to some of the\nband’s earlier influences. The rollicking “Ev
 erybody Raise a\nGlass\,” for example\, with its exuberant vocal and Bri
 an May-esque\nharmony guitar solo\, sounds like it would feel right at hom
 e on Side\nII of Queen’s A Night at the Opera. And rocker “We Lost the
  Wheel\nAgain\,” buoyed by Terry Gowan’s turbocharged bass performance
 \,\nSucherman’s other-worldly (dare we say Moon-like) drumming\, and\nEv
 ankovich’s lead vocal could easily be a leftover track from\nWho’s Nex
 t by The Who. “We’re not afraid to show our\ninfluences\,” says Lawr
 ence Gowan. “I like the fact that we're such\nproducts of that entire er
 a of classic rock that we don't try to\nnecessarily mask in any way what w
 e're inspired by from that era.”\n“Blue-Eyed Raven” is a gypsy-flavo
 red tale\, bedazzled by Shaw’s\nSpanish guitar and mandolin stylings and
  a “Fiddler on the Roof”\nmeets “Devil Went Down to Georgia” manic
  fiddle solo on the back\nend by Nashville session stalwart Aubrey Haynie.
  Adding to the\nsong’s mystery is that it was inspired by a true story. 
 “That song\nhas a long arc\,” Evankovich says\, citing previous Styx f
 orays\noutside the norm on songs like “Boat on the River” and “Our\n
 Wonderful Lives\,” which feature Shaw playing mandolin and banjo\,\nresp
 ectively. “The Things That You Said” hooks the listener from\nthe get-
 go\, with Shaw’s melodic vocal over an infectious keyboard\nriff immedia
 tely launching out of the temporary tranquility of “Ease\nYour Mind.” 
 There’s some amazing vocal performances\, both lead and\nbackground\, an
 d the closing section of the song is especially lit. No\none else can stop
  the maniac\, indeed. “Only You Can Decide”\nfollows in the grand trad
 ition of choosing your closing song wisely.\nPensive and poignant\, it enc
 apsulates the album’s theme of examining\nour personal choices and recog
 nizing how they may fit into the larger\nscheme of humanity in general. 
 “I always heard that as the closing\nsong\,” says Shaw\, noting that h
 e wrote it in the wake of multiple\nschool shootings. “It’s a broad me
 ssage. I didn’t want to make\nit about gun issues but I was just trying 
 to suggest that you don’t\nneed to get a gun and do something bad with i
 t.” Just as “Circling\nFrom Above” unfolds like large doors opening 
 to a new world\, “Only\nYou Can Decide” slowly closes them again\, lea
 ving the listener to\nponder their individual role in making the world a b
 etter place.\n“The bigger theme\,” Evankovich says\, “is that Styx i
 s all about\nhope. We’re always trying to send a message that it’s pos
 sible\, if\nwe actually work together\, to make things better.” Message 
 received.\nNow\, if you’ll forgive me\, I’m going back for yet another
  listen.\nVenue: Freeman Arts Pavilion.
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Creating and recording new music is often cons
 idered the lifeblood of any band — an ethos AOR torchbearers Styx contin
 ue to embody with the release of Circling From Above\, the 18th studio alb
 um in their formidable catalog. Spanning 13 tracks\, the album navigates t
 he complexities of the human experience through the intersecting lenses of
  technology and nature. The album\, the band’s third in eight years\, de
 livers a 41-minute\, end-to-end listening experience that is both thought-
 provoking and exhilarating. A masterclass in storytelling\, it blends sign
 ature Styx hallmarks with bold steps forward — building on the creative 
 momentum of recent releases The Mission (2017) and Crash of the Crown (202
 1). Driven by the kinetic energy of lead single “Build and Destroy\,” 
 the album is immediately available to fans at StyxWorld.com\, the Universa
 l Music Webstore and all tour stops of Styx’s “Brotherhood of Rock” 
 tour\, which kicks off tonight in Greenville\, S.C. The album’s official
  public release date is set for July 18. Styx has remained a touring jugge
 rnaut for the past 25 years\, but according to guitarist/vocalist Tommy Sh
 aw\, the band’s current streak of artistic resurgence in the studio is d
 ue to multiple factors tethered to a deep sense of harmony. “There’s j
 ust a lot of positive flow right now\,” says Shaw. “There’s a lot of
  people playing great\, and there’s a lot of love\, respect and exciteme
 nt about each other’s talents. Bands can go lifetimes and never have thi
 s kind of rapport and chemistry.” Circling From Above features contribut
 ions from all seven members of the band\, including founding guitarist/voc
 alist James “JY” Young (affectionately known as “The Godfather of St
 yx”)\, Shaw\, original bassist Chuck Panozzo\, drummer Todd Sucherman\, 
 keyboardist/vocalist Lawrence Gowan\, and newest members Will Evankovich (
 guitars and vocals) and Terry Gowan (bass). The album was produced by Evan
 kovich\, who also helmed the band’s previous two records before becoming
  an official member. All 13 songs were penned in various combinations by t
 he band’s songwriting triumvirate of Shaw\, Evankovich and Lawrence Gowa
 n. Referencing the trio’s creative spark\, Lawrence Gowan says it’s no
 t a simple case of majority rules but rather a true collaborative endeavor
 . “I’ve noticed over the last three records\, there’s a real effort 
 to make sure everyone’s got a smile on their face at the end of it\,” 
 he says. “There’s creative friction\, but everybody gets a go around t
 he table and we all get a swing at the tree. And that’s really\, really 
 good.” “It’s a strange three-way democracy for sure\,” Evankovich 
 says. “We all know that the institution of Styx is the most important th
 ing.” Circling From Above is a dynamic collection that reflects the full
  emotional and stylistic range of the Styx canon. It’s muscular yet intr
 ospective\, theatrical in moments and layered in sincerity at others — b
 alancing progressive leanings with deeper\, thought-provoking messages. 
 “When you start writing an album\, there's generally something that piqu
 es your imagination\, and all of a sudden\, you’re a storyteller startin
 g with the seed of a story\,” says Shaw. “A good song is like a straig
 ht road — it’ll get you to the next place.” Midway through writing t
 he album\, a loose theme began to orbit the band’s creative process — 
 a gravitational pull\, if you will\, guiding them down the straight road S
 haw describes. In a moment of studio serendipity\, talk turned to an app t
 hat tracks abandoned satellites\, those silent relics of once-lofty ambiti
 on. From that spark\, the opening tracks — including the title cut and 
 “Build and Destroy” — took shape\, tracing the tension between human
  ingenuity and the dreams we sometimes discard in its pursuit. “When the
 y were shot up into space\, these satellites were somebody’s dream and a
 mbition\,” says Shaw of the once-cutting-edge technology now floating ai
 mlessly through the atmosphere. “They served their purpose and they were
  cast aside. It’s a wasteland up there\, but they were once created with
  love. We’re all humans\, and who’s to say our love project is better 
 than someone else’s?” Look closely at the album cover art and you will
  see this thematic overture take flight. Thousands of starlings — chosen
  specifically for their supreme ability to work in concert together with t
 heir flight patterns — in the shape of one bird\, soaring over a dilapid
 ated satellite dish. “They’re prevailing and we’re failing\,” note
 s Evankovich of the cover. “We’re not like the rest of the creatures t
 hat work in stewardship together\, like the birds and the bees and all the
  other things. We do things and then create waste for ourselves that ends 
 up harming us.” Fans will discover no shortage of standout tracks on Cir
 cling From Above\, a handful of which could end up as singles or be prime 
 candidates for inclusion in an expanded live set once the “Brotherhood o
 f Rock” tour — during which Styx will be playing “The Grand Illusion
 ” album in full — concludes in late August. “Forgive\,” the likely
  second single\, is a perfect example of the current writing collective\, 
 featuring an emotional core\, tradeoff lead vocals by Shaw and Gowan\, and
  a perfectly crafted emotive guitar solo by Evankovich. “That intro with
  an acoustic guitar and Tommy singing is a signature Styx thing\, whether 
 it’s ‘Crystal Ball\,’ ‘Radio Silence\,’ or any of the others he 
 does\,” Evankovich says. “That’s just classic. Give me an acoustic g
 uitar and Tommy Shaw’s voice and I’m sold!” “Michigan” is a song
  Shaw and Evankovich wrote back in 2011 about the internet’s power for b
 oth good and bad. The song exudes a frenetic tension and was written in th
 e style of a James Bond movie theme. “It’s Clear” is another radio-f
 riendly tune with brooding verses\, powerful\, melodic choruses and a bewi
 tching breakdown segment in the middle. “It’s Clear” also has the di
 stinction of being just the second Styx song to feature three separate lea
 d vocal performances\, with Gowan\, Shaw and Evankovich all taking a prima
 ry turn at the mic. “That’s a fun song\,” Shaw says. “It’s like 
 a maze.” Young makes a mark with his trademark baritone lead vocal on 
 “King of Love\,” a song written specifically for him\, and the last on
 e recorded for the album. In addition to his booming vocal\, he plays a bl
 istering guitar solo\, even using the original G5 Strat he played on Styx
 ’s debut album in 1972. \"When JY gets going\, he’s hard to stop\,” 
 says Evankovich. “The Beck/Hendrix/Clapton love child exudes Chicago blu
 es. It’s always a joy to see the improvisation take shape in the studio 
 with him.\" Diversity runs rampant on the second half of the album as Styx
  pays homage to its own roots while also giving pointed tips of the cap to
  some of the band’s earlier influences. The rollicking “Everybody Rais
 e a Glass\,” for example\, with its exuberant vocal and Brian May-esque 
 harmony guitar solo\, sounds like it would feel right at home on Side II o
 f Queen’s A Night at the Opera. And rocker “We Lost the Wheel Again\,
 ” buoyed by Terry Gowan’s turbocharged bass performance\, Sucherman’
 s other-worldly (dare we say Moon-like) drumming\, and Evankovich’s lead
  vocal could easily be a leftover track from Who’s Next by The Who. “W
 e’re not afraid to show our influences\,” says Lawrence Gowan. “I li
 ke the fact that we're such products of that entire era of classic rock th
 at we don't try to necessarily mask in any way what we're inspired by from
  that era.” “Blue-Eyed Raven” is a gypsy-flavored tale\, bedazzled b
 y Shaw’s Spanish guitar and mandolin stylings and a “Fiddler on the Ro
 of” meets “Devil Went Down to Georgia” manic fiddle solo on the back
  end by Nashville session stalwart Aubrey Haynie. Adding to the song’s m
 ystery is that it was inspired by a true story. “That song has a long ar
 c\,” Evankovich says\, citing previous Styx forays outside the norm on s
 ongs like “Boat on the River” and “Our Wonderful Lives\,” which fe
 ature Shaw playing mandolin and banjo\, respectively. “The Things That Y
 ou Said” hooks the listener from the get-go\, with Shaw’s melodic voca
 l over an infectious keyboard riff immediately launching out of the tempor
 ary tranquility of “Ease Your Mind.” There’s some amazing vocal perf
 ormances\, both lead and background\, and the closing section of the song 
 is especially lit. No one else can stop the maniac\, indeed. “Only You C
 an Decide” follows in the grand tradition of choosing your closing song 
 wisely. Pensive and poignant\, it encapsulates the album’s theme of exam
 ining our personal choices and recognizing how they may fit into the large
 r scheme of humanity in general. “I always heard that as the closing son
 g\,” says Shaw\, noting that he wrote it in the wake of multiple school 
 shootings. “It’s a broad message. I didn’t want to make it about gun
  issues but I was just trying to suggest that you don’t need to get a gu
 n and do something bad with it.” Just as “Circling From Above” unfol
 ds like large doors opening to a new world\, “Only You Can Decide” slo
 wly closes them again\, leaving the listener to ponder their individual ro
 le in making the world a better place. “The bigger theme\,” Evankovich
  says\, “is that Styx is all about hope. We’re always trying to send a
  message that it’s possible\, if we actually work together\, to make thi
 ngs better.” Message received. Now\, if you’ll forgive me\, I’m goin
 g back for yet another listen. Venue: Freeman Arts Pavilion.
DTSTAMP:20260929T233129Z
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR