For the past couple decades, singer and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan has been co-starring with Tommy Shaw, “JY” James Young and Chuck Panozzo in keeping the Styx music and legacy alive and well. He took over the role from one of the band’s founders, Dennis DeYoung, in 1999, when DeYoung split due to creative differences with harder-rocking Shaw and JY.

Gowan fills the role incredibly well, as anyone who’s seen Styx during that time frame can attest. With his trademarked spinning keyboard, crazy solos and pitch perfect vocals, he adds so much to the Styx progressive rock sound. But to just know him in that role, you’ve missed a big chunk of his career. He’s a star in his own right in Canada, where he’s lived most of his life after his family emigrated from Scotland when he was young. He won numerous Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of our Grammy Awards, for his solo rock career, though we never heard his music on American rock radio.

Presented by Live Nation, Gowan and the mighty Styx performs live Thursday (6/27) night at the Peoria Civic Center Theater in their first Peoria performance in quite a while. They will work in a song or two from his solo career and play some great songs from the band’s 2017 “The Mission,” album, which deserves your attention.

In the meantime, get to know Lawrence Gowan by listening to the interview I did with him last week. And I’ll see you at the Civic Center Thursday night!

Doc Watson