Styx, Collective Soul, Tyler Hubbard and the best and worst of Summerfest's Day 8

Friday's light rain didn't put much of a damper on things on the Summerfest grounds.

Here's the best and not-so-best of what we heard Friday.

Styx

Styx may have had the largest Summerfest audience I’ve seen, outside of the amphitheater, at the BMO Pavilion Friday evening.

Thousands of (mostly) Gen-X’ers and boomers jammed into the pavilion, taking up every seat and bleacher spot available. Outside of the pavilion, there were even more layers of people, making the lines at the beer tents indistinguishable from the audience.

Once those synth sounds hit, the crowd lost it. Styx walked on stage to a healthy Milwaukee welcome. The power-ballad rockers zoomed through hit after hit with the aging members showing no signs of slowing down. Especially Larry Gowan, whose rotating keyboard station and Vegas-like antics had fans at a standstill.

Vocally, every one in the band is still at peak performance, and the guitar solos were to die for. Tommy Shaw can still shred. My only gripe with the show was that I couldn’t stay long enough to hear “Mr. Roboto,” but I did get to hear my second-favorite, “Blue Collar Man.” They killed it.

— Damon Joy, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Collective Soul

Alt-rockers Collective Soul may have dominated the airwaves in the '90s, but the band hasn't rested on its laurels since then.

The Georgia-based band, fronted by Ed Roland, has released 10 studio albums since its 1993 debut "Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid," including 2022's "Vibrating."

A large, mostly Gen-X and Millennial crowd at the Uline Warehouse stage Friday night clamored to hear the band's numerous hits. Collective Soul didn't disappoint, playing "Heavy," "Precious Declaration" and more, along with a mix of newer songs.

Although grayer, Roland still has his signature mane of long hair and plenty of vitality. He belted out tunes in his melodic voice, shook his hips and did guitar windmills a la Pete Townshend throughout the show. The rest of the band were no slouches, either.

Signature hit "Shine" sounded as fresh and uplifting as it did when it released nearly 30 years ago. The audience, singing along loudly with the chorus, seemed to agree.

— Catherine Jozwik, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Tyler Hubbard

Tyler Hubbard, formerly one half of the country pop duo Florida Georgia Line, recently struck out on his own. Based on the reaction from the formidable crowd at the UScellular Connection Stage Friday night, it was a wise move.

The easygoing, long-haired and tattooed singer, backed by a full band, kept the young audience entertained with songs about rural living, Christian values, working hard, good times in bars and beautiful women. Tunes such as "5 Foot 9" got the crowd belting out the lyrics.

With a natural stage presence and charisma, Hubbard put his soul into his performance, profusely thanking the audience several times.

"Summerfest … this is incredible," he said. "It feels like we're hangin' out at a big ol' honky-tonk, if you ask me. I know we've got some beer drinkers in the house. … I wanna see how Wisconsin gets down on a Friday night."

The crowd responded in kind, singing and holding up their beers, while Hubbard launched into "Everybody Needs a Bar." This is Milwaukee, after all.

— Catherine Jozwik

Japanese Breakfast

It will be hard to imagine any other opener than “Paprika” for a Japanese Breakfast show.

Friday night at Summerfest's Generac Power Stage, the song captured the feeling of an artist on a precipice. “How’s it feel to stand at the height of your powers,” sang Michelle Zauner, “to captivate every heart?” She banged on a light-studded gong for dramatic effect. The stage was packed, and an extra-eager core fanbase crowded the bleachers and screamed rapturously from the get-go. It felt like a main event.

After this hot start, though, the set struggled to maintain momentum. There were feedback issues and the band didn’t seem to jell. “Savage Good Boy” briefly raised the energy level; “Boyish” quickly restoked crowd chatter. Despite the relatively buoyant bent of the group’s latest album (2021’s "Jubilee"), this project began as a way to cope creatively while Zauner cared for her dying mother. Not exactly fun summertime fare.

When the band came together, though, it was magic. The energy picked up with “Posing in Bondage.” Confetti flew at the end of “Slide Tackle.” Then, competing with a noisy Miller Lite Oasis, Zauner defiantly opted for the pensive “Posing for Cars.” Most of the crowd kept right on feeling it, lingering on every word.

— Cal Roach, Special to the Journal Sentinel

The Pretty Reckless

Milwaukee was the Pretty Reckless’ last stop on the band's current tour. The Miller Lite Oasis was generously full for this humid yet somehow chilly Friday evening.

Lead singer Taylor Momsen’s bluesy voice was soothing yet cohesive with the band's hard rock/metal vibe. She commanded the audience while letting guitarist Ben Phillips take the helm occasionally to sing.

The Pretty Reckless didn’t have an over-the-top set like most; instead, the group relied on the music to get fans roused. They clamored with delight when Momsen announced they were going to perform some songs from their first album “Light Me Up.”

While the Pretty Reckless is a solid band, there was nothing really special about the show. The energy was there, but it was lacking a dramatic component. The fans were not disappointed — which is all that counts.

— Damon Joy

Built to Spill

The pervasive influence of Neil Young on indie rock reared up again Friday night at the Generac Power Stage, as Built to Spill’s lone permanent member, singer/guitarist Doug Martsch, evoked Young’s gritty, haunted electric tone again and again.

An elder statesman himself, Martsch may not have planned it this way, but one of his greatest gifts to the world has been periodically welcoming new bandmates to play his now-classic songs.

The band has been a power trio since 2019; bassist Melanie Radford grooved gleefully to Martsch’s right while drummer Teresa Esguerra whaled away on his left. Fans try not to get too attached; this was a vigorous combo, though.

There were newer songs, too; “Gonna Lose” from last year’s "When The Wind Forgets Your Name," for instance, is a fine addition to the catalog, and might have been even more effective if not bookended by Martsch’s nonchalant fiddling with his guitar and autopilot banter.

Martsch may be the quintessential endearingly awkward frontman, but his songs and his searing guitar leads spoke for themselves; a little light rain barely made a dent in the crowd.

— Cal Roach

Galactic featuring Anjelika 'Jelly' Joseph

The weather was sublime Friday afternoon at the Uline Warehouse, with the warmth from the sun blending perfectly with a gentle breeze by the lake.

But the New Orleans jam band on stage — Galactic featuring Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph — was absolutely scorching.

Take out any jaw-dropping member from the mix — belter Joseph; blaring trumpet player Eric Gordon; soulful keyboardist Richard Vogal; swinging sax and harmonica player Ben Ellman; funky bassist Robert Mercurio; and dazzling guitarist Jeffrey Raines — and the spell would have been less alluring.

As the band ripped through unstoppable party-rockers like “Hey Na Na,” dancing proved irresistible for many in the crowd. But anyone too shy to boogie had plenty of great people-watching to take in. There was the dad swinging his giddy daughter upside down to the music. And there was the glorious sight of two complete strangers jumping together and triumphantly clasping hands.

Galactic’s jams were out of this world, but the show’s best part — the exuberant reactions in the audience — were blissfully, wonderfully human.

— Piet Levy, plevy@journalsentinel.com

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Styx, Collective Soul and the best and worst of Summerfest's Day 8