Tommy Shaw of Styx says Don Felder, with whom they will do another batch of shows in Las Vegas beginning Friday, "almost feels like a member of the band. We’ve worked together so much, and doing the residency really cemented that relationship." During their previous run in Vegas, Shaw backed Felder on banjo during his performance of the Eagles' "Take It Easy."
Styx and Felder will do five shows together at the Venetian this time. Shaw tells Las Vegas Magazine that fans will get several songs from Styx's 2017 album The Mission. He explains, "We’ve never played this many songs off a new album, but [they] fit really nicely into the band’s catalog... They’re the kind of songs that by the time you’re through listening to it, you kind of know it."
While not using the term "concept album," Shaw says the project reflects his interest in science fiction and space travel. "This really started out with the last song on the album, the 'Mission to Mars' song. I had come up with this simple little idea in a little riff that was the first thing that got written on the album... It was one of those things that was like, 'This is interesting. Where did this come from'?"