Chicago Styx Concert Review: Cincinnati, OH -

Chicago and Styx Bring the Windy Cities Tour to Riverbend Music Center

Riverbend Music Center | Cincinnati, Ohio | August 6, 2026

We’re not usually much for numbers here at The Music Room, but sometimes the numbers are just too impressive to ignore.

Chicago is celebrating its 59th consecutive year of touring. Styx has more than five decades of music behind them. Between the two bands are millions upon millions of records sold, platinum albums, hit singles and songs that have become part of the soundtrack of several generations.

Put them together on the Windy Cities Tour on a beautiful August night at Riverbend Music Center, and you have one heck of a summer concert.

But what struck me most Thursday night was just how different the two experiences felt.

Chicago: This Is What the Lawn Was Made For

Chicago felt like the band the Riverbend lawn was made for.

Blankets were stretched across the grass as friends settled in with cold drinks and enjoyed a warm Cincinnati summer night. Chicago’s unmistakable horn section filled the amphitheater while the Cincinnati skyline and construction of the new Farmer Center provided the backdrop in the distance.

It was one of those nights where you could simply sit back and enjoy where you were.

Down front, however, was another story.

Those were the Chicago diehards.

They knew the songs. They knew the musicians. They were hanging on every note and celebrating a band that has been part of their lives for decades.

After 59 years, Chicago isn’t simply a band name.

It’s a legacy.

And while the lineup has evolved, pieces of that history remain. Founding member Lee Loughnane continues to provide trumpet and vocals, while newer members have stepped in to help carry Chicago’s music into its next chapter.

Among them is vocalist Rudy Cardenas, who has taken on the difficult job of singing songs that generations of fans know note for note.

That combination of old and new is important because Chicago isn’t simply trying to recreate something that happened decades ago. The current lineup is charged with keeping one of American rock music’s most recognizable catalogs alive onstage.

And judging by the crowd at Riverbend, that catalog still means an awful lot to people.

Songs like “Saturday in the Park,” “25 or 6 to 4” and “You’re the Inspiration” provided those familiar moments fans came to hear, backed by the musicianship and unmistakable horns that have defined Chicago for nearly six decades.

Then it was time to change gears.

Because if Chicago belonged to the blankets on the lawn, Styx belonged to the people pressed against the barricade.

Styx: Turn It Up

This was fists in the air, singing every word, reaching for guitar picks and letting a little sweat roll kind of rock show.

And Styx still knows exactly how to deliver one.

My own path to Styx was probably a little backward.

I actually discovered Tommy Shaw through Damn Yankees before really digging into Styx. Damn Yankees led me to Styx, Night Ranger and Ted Nugent, and I’ve been glad to have Styx in my musical world ever since.

All these years later, Shaw remains one of those performers who seems determined not to age.

Seriously, what is this guy’s secret?

More importantly, he still sounds fantastic.

Shaw remains a commanding presence onstage, and there is an energy to Styx that keeps the show from feeling like a band simply revisiting its glory days.

Part of that comes from the fact that Styx continues making new music.

Rather than treating new songs as something to get through before returning to the hits, the band plays them with the same enthusiasm it brings to the classics. There’s something refreshing about watching musicians with this much history still get excited about creating something new.

The current lineup also has an interesting family connection, with bassist Terry Gowan sharing the stage with his brother, longtime Styx keyboardist and vocalist Lawrence Gowan.

Of course, when you have a catalog like Styx, the classics are still going to win the night.

Those are the moments when the crowd takes over, voices get louder and suddenly thousands of people are singing songs they’ve carried around for decades.