Styx & Foreigner bring a night of classic rock to Ruoff Music Center

Late summer and into fall is a busy season full of famous names at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana, and Friday, July 26th was no exception to this trend. The Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour brought Styx, Foreigner, and John Waite to town, with tens of thousands of fans of all ages braving the sun and the heat to experience an unforgettable night of classic rock.

The night started strong with British musician John Waite, who came out with a calm but powerful presence during his performance.  The energy on stage got kicked up after the fourth song, allowing some skilled moments from his accompanying band to shine through and have a second to toss guitar picks to the fans after they had finished their solos. There were many moments of Waite connecting with the crowd, smiling and pointing at a specific couple of fans who had brought along an autographed drawing of him, and a successful time getting the crowd to sing along with him to songs from his previous bands.

While this tour marks a soon-to-be end on Foreigner’s nearly 50-year run as a legendary rock band, they still bring strong energy to the stage to give the fans a great experience. Current lead singer Kelly Hansen came out of backstage kicking and lifting his microphone stand high in the air, upside down. The band has tons of playful interactions not only with the fans but with each other on stage as well, which helped to amp up the crowd even more as they played some of their most well-known hits. The band made sure to have a few unique tricks up their sleeve, including a long feature on a colorful keytar and a surprise rising platform in the middle of the fans on the floor.

A tradition that Foreigner has continued throughout their touring in recent years is inviting a local high school choir up on stage to join them in performing “I Want to Know What Love Is.” The choir chosen for this stop on tour was the Northview High School Jazz Choir, led under the direction of Brenda Buchanan. The Jazz Choir sector of the music program was formed in just 2018, with tremendous work from the students giving them this once-in-a-lifetime chance. The students were visibly excited to be on stage and were met with a loud standing ovation from everyone in the venue after the song had ended.

Closing out the night was Styx, and they made sure it was an ending to remember. Entering to funky lighting timed to match the beats of the song, the energy was there right off the bat. Keyboardist Lawrence Gowan, donning an Alice in Wonderland-themed suit jacket over sequins and a top hat at points in time, made the most of his rotating setup by dancing around playing as he spun the keyboard – even playing with his back completely to the crowd for good portions of some songs. The guitarists also had their time to have the crowd’s attention, grouping in pairs for a feature moment in the middle of the stage – James Young and Tommy Shaw to the left and Terry Gowan and Will Evankovich to the right. Despite the fact the band is a mix of both founding and nearly-founding members as well as much newer ones, they worked well together on stage to perform as if they had all been doing this together for decades.

Check out the official live Renegades & Juke Box Heroes tour playlist: