Tribute acts performing the hit songs of an iconic artist or band isn’t new in the Peterborough Musicfest realm, but relatively rare have been those occasions when the classic music of two bands is paid its due by one headliner over the courses of the same evening.
Notwithstanding the fact that the annual summer music festival remains a free admission event, a double tribute guarantees more bang for your buck.
On Saturday (August 15) at Del Crary Park, the penultimate concert of Musicfest’s 39th season will see tribute band Crystal Faith perform the timeless music of Styx and Bon Jovi. The show starts at 8 p.m., supported as always by a number of sponsors, kawarthaNOW among them.
Fronted by Canadian powerhouse vocalist Al Langlade — he performed at Musicfest in 2022 as part of Hotel California’s tribute to The Eagles — Crystal Faith is comprised of world-class musicians with Trilogy Classics Live who also perform spot-on tributes to the music of Journey and Foreigner.
In opting to cover the music of Styx and Bon Jovi, the band has hit on two acts whose music is recognizable to even the most casual of rock fans.
Formed in Chicago in 1972, Styx’s original lineup of Dennis DeYoung, James “JY” Young, John “JC” Curulewski, Chuck Panozzo, and John Panozzo released their self-titled debut album that same year, and subsequently released an album every year right through the 1970s.
VIDEO: Crystal Faith: The Best of Styx & Bon Jovi
The result of that body of work are some of the most powerful and memorable rock songs of the decade — “Lady” in 1973, “Lorelei” in 1975 (with new guitarist Tommy Shaw, who replaced Curulewski), “Come Sail Away” and “Fooling Yourself” in 1977, “Blue Collar Man” and “Renegade” in 1978, and “Babe” in 1979.
If Styx had called it a day with the arrival of the 1980s, it could have laid claim to a very successful career. Thankfully for music fans worldwide, the band had more to give. Give it did in the form of two more albums — 1981’s Paradise Theatre and its hit singles “The Best of Times” and “Too Much Time on My Hands,” and 1983’s Kilroy Was Here, which spawned “Mr. Roboto” and “Don’t Let It End.”
To date, Styx has released 18 studio albums, the latest being 2025’s Circling from Above. Besides creating new music, the band still tours extensively and habitually performs sold-out concerts. In the mix since 1999 has been Scarborough native and 2026 Peterborough Musicfest season-opener Gowan, who came on board as the band’s keyboardist and has since sung lead vocals on a number of Styx’s signature songs.
With eight songs of its songs having cracked the Top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as 16 Top 40 singles, and with a Grammy Award nomination to boot, it’s pretty clear why Styx has been singled out for a tribute, not just by Crystal Faith but by many other bands.
Bon Jovi, meanwhile, came to the fore 11 years after Styx debuted, but has enjoyed no less of a stellar run.
Formed in Sayreville, New Jersey by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, Alex John Such, and Tico Torres, Bon Jovi’s 1984 self-titled debut album gave the band its first Top 40 hit in the form of “Runaway.”
While the band’s follow-up album, 1985’s 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit, met with modest success, the following year’s Slippery When Wet launched Bon Jovi into the musical stratosphere via the hit singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.” Certified platinum a remarkable 18 times, it remains one of the top 100 best-selling of all time, both south of the border and worldwide.
The 1990s brought continued success for Bon Jovi, with the band’s fifth album Keep the Faith peaking at number five on US Billboard 200. The last studio album to feature all five original members of the band, it gave forth the hit singles “Keep the Faith,” “Bed of Roses,” and “In These Arms.”
VIDEO: “Fooling Yourself” by Styx featuring members of Crystal Faith
In 2024, the album Forever marked number 16 for Bon Jovi and, not unlike Styx, the band continues to perform worldwide, with this year’s Bon Jovi Forever Tour continuing an unbroken line of sold-out concerts. To date, Bon Jovi has performed more that 3,000 concerts in 50 countries before some 34 million people.
On top of all this, you name an award and Bon Jovi has won or been nominated for it. That impressive list includes nine Grammy Award nods, the lone win coming in 2007 for, ironically, Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” with Jennifer Nettles. And back in 2018, Bon Jovi was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — an honour which, somehow, has so far eluded Styx despite being eligible since 1998.
Prior to Crystal Faith taking the stage, the Cogeco-sponsored Future Sound Series will feature the captivating harmonies of Peterborough’s own The Colton Sisters from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., near the food trucks at the George Street entrance to Del Crary Park.
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 16 free-admission concerts during its 39th season, staged in Del Crary Park on Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 19.
Overseen by executive director Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert or the 2026 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or call the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2026 season.
