dennis deyoung

Under some rain, some shine, Dennis DeYoung whipped up the best of times Friday night at Coralville’s 4thFEST. Thousands turned out to hear the voice of Styx create his magic during a 90-minute free concert in S.T. Morrison Park. They danced the robot, they cheered, they sang those familiar lyrics and some dined in style with elaborate homemade picnics and barbecues. Even Miss Iowa, Anne Michael Langguth of Iowa City, whipped out her fiddle for a rousing “Orange Blossom Special” to kick off the concert.

It doesn’t get more Americana than that for a Fourth of July celebration.

Chicago native DeYoung, 62, is in fine form. He sounds just as fabulous today as in his former band’s heyday in the ’70s and ’80s. The years aren’t always kind to rock ’n’ roll tenors, but his pure, high tones shot like a rocket through the layers of funky electronics. Although he’s parted company with his former bandmates, he’s assembled a groovy new group with dual guitars, bass, percussion, keyboards and two backup vocalists. Something tells me DeYoung sounds better without Styx than Styx sounds without DeYoung. (We’ll find out when Styx plays an outdoor show at the Riverside Casino at 8 p.m. Aug. 29.)