Members of REO Speedwagon came back together in their hometown of Champaign, Illinois for a concert retrospective on Saturday night (June 14) honoring their lengthy career.
To quote one of the band’s own song titles, it was like being “Lost in a Dream,” being there on the campus of the University of Illinois as the musicians moved through a set list that put heavy emphasis on obscurities and deeper cuts from the REO catalog, including that title track from their 1974 album. You can see a full set list as well as live video below.
But the evening at the State Farm Center also featured many of the familiar fan favorites, including their biggest hits, “Keep on Loving You” and several other tracks from their 1980 No. 1 album, Hi Infidelity. “Roll With the Changes” and “Time for Me to Fly,” too. For REO fans — and the band members themselves, it was a fever dream come true. As bassist Bruce Hall told UCR leading up to the gig, it was also a farewell of sorts, in the wake of the complicated demise of the group, which stopped touring at the end of 2024.
There was no mention of vocalist Kevin Cronin and he was, as expected, absent from the festivities, touring as part of this summer’s Brotherhood of Rock tour with Styx and Don Felder. That left a question in the minds of some fans as far as how the remaining alumni would fill that hole. As it turns out, they had a formidable secret weapon in mind. The country-flecked trio, Levon, brought their skills to Champaign, with their three-part harmonies and considerable vocal talents. The Nashville group, who have toured extensively with REO in the past, were a big part of the family spirit that was in the air throughout the night, but also added a formidable three-guitar attack.
Vocalist Terry Luttrell, who featured on the band’s 1971 self-titled debut, helped kick the night off, performing four tracks with his REO Classics band, carefully curated from the group’s first three albums. He was joined by early guitarist Steve Scorfina for “Gypsy Woman’s Passion,” from the debut. As Luttrell shared with the crowd, REO had moved through its share of members in the early years leading up to the first album, particularly when it came to guitar players. Scorfina entered the fold, recommended by St. Louis native Michael McDonald, who told the group they should consider the guitarist.
The songs they would write for their eventual debut included material which reflected the civil unrest and global strife that the world was living through. “We became the poster boys with students from democratic society right here on campus,” the singer told the crowd, as he introduced “Anti-Establishment Man” from the first record. “We played for rallies on top of rallies, out on the Quad. You name it and we were there. It prompted us to write protest songs at the time.
There was a thread of storytelling like that which carried through the night, bringing new context to the songs from the band’s catalog. They also honored two of their fallen members, guitarist and songwriter Gary Richrath and bassist Gregg Philbin, with a formal plaque presentation to Richrath’s son, Eric, who had flown in from Edinburgh, Scotland that morning to be able to appear with the REO alums that same night. “I’m not going to sit up here and babble,” he said with a smile. “We’ve got a lot of music to get to. I think in this moment, my dad would probably say, ‘Let’s get back to the rock,’ so let’s do that.”
Indeed, the stage darkened as stormy sounds began to fill the arena. Richrath stayed on stage to play guitar for the REO signature, “Ridin’ the Storm Out.” Hall, surrounded by fellow band members, keyboardist and co-founder Neal Doughty as well as co-founding drummer Alan Gratzer and early vocalist Mike Murphy, beamed with pride throughout the night. Incredibly, it was Gratzer’s first time playing songs from his former group’s catalog on stage in 37 years — and yet there was no apparent rust.
“I’ve been very happily retired,” Gratzer shared with the fans following a performance of the band’s 1984 single, “Can’t Fight This Feeling.” their second and final No. 1 as a group. “Neal and I started this band in 1967, which many of you already know, over in Townsend Hall [on the] second floor. After our freshman year, we went home over the summer and I said, ‘Let’s come back in the fall when we go to school and form a band.'” He gave Doughty an assignment, to learn the first Doors album. With Gratzer pinch-hitting on vocals and bass and Doughty playing drums initially, it sparked a “little cover band” that evolved through a series of personnel changes. Once Richrath joined the lineup, the rest of the story was “kind of history.”
Though Doughty didn’t crawl behind the kit (even though he comically threatened to), Gratzer took the Phil Collins approach for Saturday evening’s gig, singing and drumming on a cover of “Twentieth Century Fox” to give the assembled audience a brief taste of what might have been if they’d remained just a cover band. It sounded not too shabby, but thankfully, they had larger goals that eventually brought the big hit records.
The ongoing skirmish with Cronin that brought REO Speedwagon to an unexpected conclusion at the end of 2024 put a bit of sadness into the air, but Hall sought to highlight the positive side, though it was clear he was fighting his own emotions. “I gotta tell ya something. As hard as it’s all been for everybody, including me, don’t forget that love will cure you,” he said. “I’m counting on that. It should hopefully make a difference in somebody close that you know, because I miss you too. I think these songs belong to all of us and it’s fun playing them.” But he also acknowledged after “Keep on Loving You,” the song which followed, “In all reality, this is REO’s last show.”
If it was indeed the end, they went out with a dream set list and an even better performance. The guest spots by Eric Richrath — and Hall’s own offspring, Sara and Timmy — were one thing. Add in the assistance of Levon paired with the incredible assembly of the members of the past REO timeline and it felt like a true family affair and plenty of new reasons to hope that it’s not the last time.
Watch Terry Luttrell and the REO Classics Band Perform ‘Golden Country’
Honoring the Legacy of REO Speedwagon, 6/14/25 Champaign, Illinois, Set List
1. “Son of a Poor Man”
2. “Gypsy Woman’s Passion”
3. “Anti-Establishment Man”
4. “Golden Country”
5. “Ridin’ the Storm Out”
6. “Sing to Me”
7. “Let’s Be-Bop”
8. “Only the Strong Survive”
9. “Time for Me to Fly”
10. “Lost in a Dream”
11. “Can’t Fight This Feeling”
12. “Twentieth Century Fox” (Doors cover)
13. “Take it on the Run”
14. “Back on the Road Again”
15. “Keep on Loving You”
16. “Keep Pushin'”
17. “Don’t Let Him Go”
18. “Roll With the Changes”
19. “157 Riverside Avenue”
REO Speedwagon Albums Ranked
REO Speedwagon’s catalog and career have been marked by dizzying highs and big setbacks. Here’s a ranked look back.
Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
