With such a rich and extensive history, it’s difficult to imagine a time when hard rock was a novel form of expression, but for the older guard that saw its rise to commercial prominence in the 1970s, that sense of freshness and flair endures over 5 decades later. Of the veteran acts still setting the open air ablaze, the union of arena rock mainstays Styx and REO Speedwagon have continued a storied touring tradition dubbed The Brotherhood of Rock for 25 years running.
Kicking off on May 28th with Kevin Cronin’s solo band standing in for the latter and former Eagles guitarist Don Felder on board as the opening act, this 25th anniversary of an AOR extravaganza raged forth with little want for energy in spite of most of the principal membership involved being well into their 70s. Their follow-up performance on May 30th at the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida, saw the ante upped further still, replete with familiar anthems from decades past being delivered as if they had never gone out of fashion.
The soulful and country-tinged swagger of The Eagles was the primary sonic delicacy delivered by Don Felder, whose support band proved more than up to the task of filling out the rich arrangement required of such an undertaking. Felder himself rivaled the iconic personas of Clapton and Hendrix while juggling both lead vocal and lead guitar duties, maximizing the expressive qualities of both instruments while nonchalantly working the crowd in a pair of shades and summer attire.
Yet much of the magic that unfolded should be credited to the precision of his support band, to speak nothing for the rich vocal harmonies that were conjured during the choruses off classic staples like “Already Gone”, “Take It Easy” and especially the a capella intro of the famed Eagles rendition of Steve Young’s “Seven Bridges Road”.
Harder hitting entries like “Life In The Fast Lane” and new song “I Like The Things You Do” felt twice as impactful as their studio originals due to the greater bite of the guitars, while early 80s smash “Heavy Metal” seemed to cross over into its namesake genre in spite of Felder’s smooth voice being along for the ride. But the final hurrah performance of “Hotel California” naturally ended up stealing the show between Felder proving well up to the task of emulating Don Henley’s original vocal performance and rocking his signature double-neck guitar as he handled the majority of the iconic lead work originally split between himself and Joe Walsh, losing none of the original luster that made it The Eagles’ signature anthem.
The air became steeped in arena-oriented largess as Kevin Cronin and his band, built primarily of fellow former members of REO Speedwagon, took the stage to a synthesizer medley of signature segments from the iconic High Infidelity album. The lion’s share of their 75-minute performance was devoted to the performance of said album in its entirety, with Cronin leading the charge with his slightly weathered but still boisterous tenor, moving about the stage between verse lines like a man half his present age.
His enthusiasm seemed to only increase while taking several occasions to talk to the audience between songs, inserting a few humorous quips here and there, and just coming off as the life of a massive party to which everyone had been invited. The crowd wasn’t shy about reciprocating the enthusiasm displayed by this aged yet still vibrant arena rock staple, especially when one of numerous rock radio hits from yesteryear blared from the PA like it was still the early 1980s.
Rocking guitar-oriented entries from High Infidelity like “Don’t Let Him Go”, “Tough Guys” and the ultra-infectious fanfare of “Take It On The Run” felt all the more off the hook with the sea of voices singing along, while the smooth and poignant power balladry of “Keep On Loving You” and “I Wish You Were There” managed to elicit even louder cheers as Cronin led the show from behind the piano. Even after exhausting the High Infidelity track list, plenty of stellar moments were had on ringer performances of “Time For Me To Fly” and especially the encore blowout achieved via “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and the soulful rocking send off “Roll With The Changes”, all the while Cronin repeatedly defined the concept of being 73 years young.
Headliners and 70s hard rock powerhouse Styx raised the concept of theatricality to an art form, with the aid of the night sky overhead and a massive light and visual display behind them as they proceeded to deliver a raging performance of The Grand Illusion in its entirety. Exuding all the traits of a super group, there wasn’t really a true helmsman to speak of between the three dominant personas of Tommy Shaw, James Young and Lawrence Gowan, though it was hard to deny that the latter was an utter force to be reckoned with as he seamlessly matched his predecessor Dennis DeYoung’s signature keyboard chops and flamboyant showmanship while also delivering a similarly idiomatic and quasi-operatic tenor on prog-tinged smash anthems “The Grand Illusion”, “Come Sail Away” and “Castle Walls”.
Then again, Young’s gritty and menacing performance of “Miss America” held its own and provided the perfect guitar-rocking foil to an 8-song cycle heavily steeped in soaring keyboards and programmatic flair. The brilliant performance of an entire 1977 progressive rock staple was only half the story, and the bulk of what would follow saw a more hard rock sound emerge, and with it a greater share of the spotlight for Tommy Shaw.
Punchy anthems with a greater share of guitar work like “Too Much Time On My Hands” and fist-pumping working class crusher “Blue Collar Man” stole the lion’s share of the remaining set, and Shaw proved just as apt at exploring the stage and revving up the audience while throwing in his signature guitar solos, though his piercing tenor continued to prove his greatest asset and ultimately brought the non-existent roof down during a brilliant encore performance of “Renegade”.
Nevertheless, Gowan continued to function as a de facto ringmaster during spellbinding renditions of “Lady” (also one of several songs featuring original bassist Chuck Panozzo) and synth-happy musical theater nod “Mr. Roboto”, topping off a 90 minute set that was bursting at the seams with sonic excellence, yet also seemed criminally short in length.
Though still in its infancy, The Brotherhood of Rock 2025 tour has already proved that classics will never get old, even if, as their creators do. In a time when hard rock might be seen as a lost art from a bygone age, there are still thousands upon thousands of diehard fans, young and old, filling pits and seats to keep the flame burning. The years ahead of these elder statesmen are undoubtedly shorter than the ones painting their long-established legacies, but it was impossible to tell for the evening of May 30th in sunny south Florida, a feat that is sure to be accomplished many times over during the summer across the continental United States.
