Counting Crows, Wallflowers, REO Speedwagon and Styx coming to Minnesota State Fair Grandstand

Two classic rock double-headers – Counting Crows and the Wallflowers and REO Speedwagon and Styx – are the latest additions to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand concert series.

Tickets for the Counting Crows and the Wallflowers on Aug. 26 are priced from $51 to $34 and go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday. Seats for REO Speedwagon and Styx on Sept. 1 are $51 and $41 and go on sale at noon Friday. Tickets are available through Etix and by phone at 800-514-3849.

REO Speedwagon began life as a cover band made up of Illinois college students in the late ’60s. Things got serious in 1970 with the arrival of guitarist Gary Richrath, who would go on to write some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Ridin’ the Storm Out” and “Take It on the Run.” Lead singer Kevin Cronin joined soon after, and REO Speedwagon went on to rule the ’80s with such hits as “Keep on Loving You,” “Keep the Fire Burnin’” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” The band was introduced to a new generation thanks to Pitbull’s hit “Messin’ Around,” which heavily samples “Take It on the Run.”

Styx got started in Chicago way back in 1961, when twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo started a band with their neighbor, Dennis DeYoung. They didn’t record together as Styx until 1972, with 1974’s single “Lady” giving the band their breakthrough hit. Styx returned to the Top 10 numerous times over the following decade, with songs like “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” “The Best of Times,” “Too Much Time on My Hands” and “Mr. Roboto.” DeYoung left the group in 1999, although the rest of the lineup has remained mostly stable in the time since, with guitarist Will Evankovich joining the lineup last year.

Counting Crows found success with their 1993 debut single “Mr. Jones” and returned to the charts with “Round Here,” “Angels of the Silences,” “A Long December,” “Hanginaround” and “Big Yellow Taxi.” Since leaving Geffen Records in 2009, the band has released a few live albums, recorded a collection of cover versions and pursued solo careers. Last year, Counting Crows released the EP “Butter Miracle,” their first new music since 2014.

Famous son Jakob Dylan’s band the Wallflowers took an extended break after 2005’s “Rebel, Sweetheart,” with Dylan going on to issue a trio of solo albums, including 2010’s acclaimed “Women + Country.” But he’s always stressed he prefers to work with others, telling one reporter: “I never planned on hitting the road and just being the guy with a guitar … I came up loving bands and I want to be in one.” Last year, the group released their seventh album “Exit Wounds.”

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