It was the perfect way to kick off the summer concert season, the weather was pleasant and the tides were calm you could see the beach from behind as three of the biggest acts in classic rock took the stage and rocked the crowd. The Soundtrack of Summer Tour co-headlined by STYX and Foreigner with special guest Don Felder reminded attendees of the good ol days and by the end of the night it felt “like the very first time.”
Don Felder took the stage promptly at 7:00pm he performed songs from his time with the Eagles, “Witchy Woman,” “Life in The Fast Lane” and “Hotel California” among many hits. “Here’s a song I wrote from an animated movie in 1981 and if you remember the movie you weren’t high enough,” he said before performing “Taking a Ride (On Heavy Metal).” By the time the double neck guitar was brought out onstage the crowd was on its feet expectantly waiting for the classic hit, “Hotel California” which was performed with Todd Sucherman and Tommy Shaw of STYX.
A beach ball was tossed amongst the crowd as the Jones Beach crowd welcomed STYX to the stage. They kicked off their set with “Grand Illusion” and performed hits like, “Lady,” “Superstars,” and “Come Sail Away.”
“We try to make every place special no matter where we go but there’s no place like Jones Beach,” said Tommy Shaw before going into “Crystal Ball” earning them a rousing round of applause. Perhaps one of the most impressive parts of the evening was watching Tommy Shaw run towards the crowd with his guitar in hand performing every lick of his guitar solo without missing a beat as attendees cheered him on and attempted to high five him.
With the strict 11pm Jones Beach curfew the bands were forced to pack in all their songs in the allotted time giving fans very little rest in between one high power performance after the other. By the time Foreigner took the stage the crowd was pumped and ready to dance the remainder of the night away.
Foreigner closed the evening out with their powerhouse performances of “Feels Like The First Time,” “Cold As Ice,” “Urgent,” and “Jukebox Hero.” The crowd nearly lost their minds when founding Foreigner member and songwriter Mick Jones joined them onstage midway through their performance.
Among crowd pleasers were power ballads, “Waiting for A Girl Like You” and “I Want To Know What Love Is.” The massive combined catalogs of the three acts proved to be a stellar experience to all attendees and a show that shouldn’t be missed.