Fifty-plus years of parallel careers, both outfits born out of Chicago, and somehow it took until 2026 for Styx and Chicago to finally share a headline bill. Call it a long time coming — but when “The Windy Cities Tour: All The Hits…Your Kind of Tour” rolls into Austin on Wednesday, August 19, you’ll be watching the first co-headlining run in the history of two of rock’s most durable institutions. Tommy Shaw put it plainly: “The idea of Styx touring with Chicago is a major thrill all on its own.”
About Styx
Styx came out of Chicago in 1972, working their way up through a Midwestern rock scene that didn’t hand anybody anything. By the late 1970s they had assembled one of the most remarkable sustained runs in arena rock history: The Grand Illusion in 1977, Pieces of Eight in 1978, Cornerstone in 1979 — “Babe” going to No. 1 that same year — and Paradise Theatre in 1981. Four consecutive multi-platinum albums. Eight top-10 Billboard Hot 100 hits. They were the first band in rock history to achieve that certified run of four straight multi-platinum records, a distinction that tends to get buried beneath the cultural weight of “Come Sail Away” and “Mr. Roboto,” but shouldn’t be.
The current lineup carries both the catalog and some new ambition: founding members James “JY” Young (guitar, vocals) and Chuck Panozzo (bass, guest appearances) alongside Tommy Shaw, Lawrence Gowan on keyboards, Todd Sucherman on drums, Will Evankovich on guitar and vocals, and Terry Gowan on bass and vocals. Styx released their eighteenth studio album, Circling From Above, in 2025 — thirteen tracks produced by Evankovich, threading the tension between technology and human experience. Whether the new material deepens on the live stage is an open question; the signature songs will not require answers.
Worth noting on the road with them: Tommy Shaw and REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin have organized Rock to the Rescue, their nonprofit that directs funds to grassroots organizations at each tour stop. It’s a tangible thing, and it runs alongside every date on this run.
About Chicago
Chicago has been touring continuously since they formed — 59 uninterrupted years as of 2026, which puts them in a category almost no American band has reason to claim. Their commercial record stands without embellishment: 11 number-one singles, 21 top-10 hits, five consecutive number-one albums, 49 total gold and platinum certifications. Billboard placed them at No. 10 on their Top 125 Artists of All Time list in 2019, the highest-charting American band on that ranking.
Lee Loughnane, the band’s original trumpeter and now its sole touring original member, framed the pairing simply: “Chicago has never toured with Styx before so it’s going to be a lot of fun.” Loughnane has been in the band since the beginning — through the brass-forward arrangements that defined an era of rock radio, through the decades of stadium circuits and catalog reassessments and back again. The 2025 deluxe reissue of their 2005 album signals a band actively keeping the catalog in the conversation; the live show, with that horn section intact, is where it connects.
Moody Center ATX
Moody Center ATX opened in April 2022 as Austin’s successor to the Frank Erwin Center, which closed in 2023 and has since been demolished. Situated at 2001 Robert Dedman Drive on the UT–Austin campus, the arena operates as a partnership between Oak View Group, Live Nation/C3 Presents, and the University of Texas — with Matthew McConaughey signed on as investor and what the venue calls its “Minister of Culture.” Concert configuration runs north of 15,000. Every major touring act that moves through Austin now plays here.
A note for residents navigating Austin’s Moody landscape: this is not ACL Live at the Moody Theater, the downtown room on West Sixth, and it’s not Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park, the outdoor venue also downtown. Moody Center on Robert Dedman Drive is the arena. Plan accordingly — and give yourself time to park.
Tickets
The Windy Cities Tour launches July 13, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida and runs through September 6 in Los Angeles — 24 U.S. dates and one Canadian stop across roughly eight weeks. The night after Austin, the tour moves to Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. Showtime is 7:00 PM. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.