Brotherhood of Rock, feat. Styx and Kevin Cronin Band, at Daily’s Place, Jacksonville (June 2, 2025)

Tour Dates

• 06/04 Germania Insurance Amphitheater Austin, TX
• 06/06 Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The Woodlands, TX
• 06/07 Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena Ridgedale, MO
• 06/09 Founders’ Green Denver, CO
• 06/11 Utah First Credit Union Amph West Valley City, UT
• 06/13 Toyota Pavilion at Concord Concord, CA
• 06/14 Hayden Homes Amphitheater Bend, OR
• 06/15 Cascades Amphitheater Ridgefield, WA
• 06/28 Isleta Resort & Casino Albuquerque, NM
• 06/29 Ford Amphitheater Colorado Springs, CO
• 07/02 Starlight Theatre Kansas City, MO

What a wonderful night of classic rock, as The Brotherhood of Rock Tour stopped by Daily’s Place, in Jacksonville, Florida. This tour features two co-headlining brotherhood rock bands: Styx and REO Speedwagon… but for legal reasons, it is billed as Kevin Cronin Band. We will get to that story a little later.

Since this is the first time I have attended Daily’s Place (named after a local convenience store chain), I’ll describe the venue. This is a very large amphitheater, with a capacity of 5,500, in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville. What is cool about it, is that it shares spaces with the EverBank Stadium, so technically two events could be taking place at the same time – yet access to food vendors and stores are shared within that space between the two venues. Since 2019, the amphitheater has become nationally known as the home of All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

It would appear that there was on-going construction around the stadium, and with multiple events happening in the Sports Complex, that getting to Daily’s Place, and my unfamiliar with where the box office was, it proved to be somewhat of an effort for me. I think next time, I’ll be more familiar with how to proceed and where to park.

Anyway, kicking off the rockfest was Don Felder, most famous for being the lead guitarist for the Eagles in mid-70 to early 80.
During his time in the band, he co-wrote their most famous song, “Hotel California”… which obviously he saved for last, along with his double-neck guitar.

Felder’s band includes the talented (and young) guitarist David Myhre, bassist Derek Frank, and drummer Seth Rausch.

We previously saw the Hall of Famer when appeared at the Starkey Hearing Foundation 18th Annual Awards in July 2018, playing alongside Alice Cooper and Robbie Krieger from The Doors: ““Anybody recognize this guitar?” four-time Grammy Award winning ex-guitarist for The Eagles, Don Felder asked, holding up his signature double neck before strumming the recognizable first chords of ‘Hotel California’’. Felder then introduced [Alice] Cooper, and he and the band dove straight into ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’, accompanied by the legendary guitarist from The Doors, Robbie Krieger.”

As you can see from the setlist, more than half of his set includes songs he wrote for the Eagles, including “Take It Easy” and “Life in the Fast Lane.”

Next up was Kevin Cronin Band, currently featuring Dave Amato on guitar, Bryan Hitt on drums, Derek Hilland on keys, and Matt Bissonette on bass. When Cronin was introducing the band, he noted that everyone in his band have been with him for some time… except “the new guy” Derek Hilland. Although he’s new, he’s a veteran when it comes to playing in rock group, as he previously was in Iron Butterfly, Whitesnake, Foreigner, and Rick Springfield’s band.

Earlier, when I said legally, Cronin couldn’t bill as REO Speedwagon, that is because, lawyers are involved between Kevin Cronin and REO bassist Bruce Hall. All of this probably stem from Cronin was excluded from the upcoming REO Speedwagon one-off reunion show on June 14, 2025.

Billboard sums up, “It’s kind of like a divorce of sorts, and during a divorce things get a little muddy and things get a little sticky. I wish it could’ve been more amicable, but the minute attorneys get involved it just changes the atmosphere of things.”

The June 14 date is problematic for Cronin, as he was already committed to touring with Styx a year ago. He said he felt hurt, and he felt 35-year REO veterans Dave Amato and Bryan Hitt were not shown respect, because they weren’t even invited to the reunion.

Whatever you may think of the situation, it’s hard to ignore Cronin’s contribution to REO Speedwagon, giving them such hits as “Keep On Loving You” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” The former song was included in their album Hi Infidelity, which the band happily played the entire record for us.

There was a technical difficulty with the guitars, during “Music Man”. Cronin said it was the longest difficulty the band had ever suffered on tour.

Co-headliner Styx closed out the show. The power ballad band’s most popular album is The Grand Illusion, which came out in 1977. The record had two hit singles, “Come Sail Away” and “Fooling Yourself”.

Those songs, along with all the songs on The Grand Illusion were played in front of a giant video screen showing ‘77 videos and colorful fireworks.

Whatever time the band had left, they played some fan favorites, such as “Rockin’ the Paradise” and encore song, “Mr Roboto.”