(RED BANK, NJ) -- Glen Burtnik has lined up a great group of musicians to play songs by Styx at the Count Basie Center for the Arts on Friday, May 30, 2025. It's a show I've got to admit I didn't see coming, but one that long-time fans of Glen should get a ticket for.
Why? Because it's rare to see a show featuring Glen Burtnik original songs in a venue like The Basie and these are songs from a part of his career rarely played these days.
In 1987, Glen's second album, Heroes and Zeros was released by A&M. It was the record that should have taken his career to the next level. Ahead of the album's release, Billboard Magazine said it was "an excellent follow-up to his auspicious debut set, Talking in Code." Things started off well with the single "Follow You" - a song he performed live on several tv shows. It had decent airplay on rock radio, and a video that ran on MTV, but after the initial push ended, the record label seemed to back off promotion and the album quickly teetered out. (SIDE NOTE: "Follow You" was such a big song regionally that it was played at my prom by a cover band!)
A few years later, Glen received a message on his answering machine from Dennis DeYoung to see if he wanted to audition for Styx. Next thing you know, he's not only a member of the classic rock band, but a huge part of their Edge of the Century album. He wrote several of the songs and even sang lead on a few tracks - most notably the single "Love is the Ritual".
His time in Styx was rather short, but the album went gold and one of the singles "Show Me the Way" reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Years later, he was asked to rejoin the band and helped write songs for the album, Cyclorama.
Some of the songs Glen recorded for Styx wound up on his own releases as well. "Love Is The Ritual" was released on his album Retrospectacle and "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye" was released on Welcome to Hollywood - his last official full-length studio album.
While there are Styx fans who dove into Glen's solo catalog and became fans of his music as well, there are also those who only know him from the two studio albums he record with Styx. He initally replaced Tommy Shaw - a very popular member of the band - and was welcomed into the family. In a way, this show is sort of thanking them for their support over the years. It's also a nice way for the Jersey fans to hear from a different side of his career.
Tickets for Burtnik Plays the Music of Styx range from $29-$59 (plus fees) and are available for purchase online. Count Basie Center for the Arts is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey. The lineup for the night includes Jimmy Leahey – Guitar, vocals (Dennis DeYoung Band); August Zadra –Guitar, vocals (Dennis DeYoung Band); Dave Anthony – Drums (Dennis DeYoung Band); Eric Troyer – Keyboard, Vocals (John Lennon, KISS, Billy Joel, Meatloaf, ELO Part 2, The Orchestra); and Kasim Sulton – Bass, vocals (Todd Rundgren, Meatloaf, Hall & Oates).
I caught up with Glen to ask him about the show.
Are you taking requests from Styx fans online?
I’ve read some of the suggestions online. Hardcore Styx fans would prefer we play deep tracks that a good portion of the audience has never heard of. Fans of my music have requested some of my solo material. And then there are the fans of my collaborators in this project – Kasim Sulton fans would probably like some Utopia songs, Eric Troyer fans would probably like ELO Part 2 music, DeYoung fans probably want August, Jimmy & Dave to dig deep into Dennis DeYoung’s writing. There’s so much stuff to draw from, but I just wanna play a fun show.
Do you miss playing any of these Styx songs on stage?
I haven’t performed this material in years. Decades, actually! I guess it’s a bit of an experiment. Since we’re living in the Tribute Band era, I figured I’d take a tiny break from performing Beatles, ELO & Summer Of Love material and try a show of the music of a band I was one a member of (twice actually) – a successful band I wrote songs for and with.
What are some of your favorite Styx songs to play?
I’ll tell you after this show! Honestly since, as I’ve said, I haven’t revisited this material in eons, I can’t say I'll know what's the most fun until we’ve gotten it out of our systems. For all I can tell, this may be the one and only time this will take place.
At least two of the songs for Edge of the Century were ones you had been playing as a solo artist. What was it like having them released under the Styx name instead of a third Burtnik album?
Well, you write a song and then you’d like a home for it, a recording, as well as an audience to hear what you’ve come up with. After the disappointment of my solo career not exactly exploding, I was fortunate to have received a call from Dennis, JY and the Panozzo brothers, offering me an opportunity to attract a large, new, completely different audience. So yeah, I totally enjoyed it. I also, simultaneously wrote some of the biggest hits of my career for others at the time. I’ve lived a life which continues to surprise me.
Since many Styx fans did seek out your solo catalog, do you plan on playing any songs from your own albums or Slaves of New Brunswick, which I've seen many Styx fans praise over the years.
Well, I like surprises and I’d rather not publicize the setlist beforehand. Truth is, as I write this I’m not 100% certain exactly what songs we’ll be playing. But I will tell you, the name of the show kind of says it all. And for the record, The Slaves had a reunion performance last October on the street in New Brunswick last October and I believe we might be doing that again sometime this year.
