Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Loverboy Rock PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ

It was a beautful summer night in Monmouth County and a great night for a fun show at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Loverboy were in town and it was a packed house in Holmdel.

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Quick side story, the only band of the three I ever saw in concert was Loverboy. 40 years ago I saw Loverboy at the Philadelphia Jam at RFK Stadium in Philly. 1982 and Loverboy was appearing along with Huey Lewis and the News, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the Hooters, the Kinks, and Foreigner. Fun show I was a kid and here we are 40 years later.

Loverboy was first out and they did the hits and everyone around us who were fans knew the words to the Canadien bands hits. Included in the set were “The Kid is Hot Tonight”, “Lucky Ones”, and “Working For The Weekend”.

Next out was REO Speedwagon, they simply had too many hits to fit into one set. Kevin Cronin, Neal Doughty and band put on fantastic show. Cronin talked about life at one point and how now at 70 he is enjoying every minute playing music. For a 70 year old rocker her looked and sounded amazing wth so much energy and smiles throughout the show. I loved how he “fist bumped” everyone in the band as they came out to start their set. I had never seen REO so glad I got to check that off my list this summer.

Finally the night ended with Styx and their set. Like I mentioned I had never seen Styx and once again a great band to check off the list. Tommy Shaw and the band brought the hits and a colorful set and fun performance. I always thought of Styx as a “theatrical” rock band and seeing them in concert you got that impression. People were singing along and loving every minute of the Styx set.

It was a fun night at the PNC Bank Arts Center and it’s been a great summer of shows. We hope our listeners who won tickets with us enjoyed the show as much as April and I. Take some time to scroll through my photos from the show below.