Lawrence Gowan paid tribute to his fellow Canadian musician Neil Peart during a Styx concert on Friday, only hours after news of Peart’s death rocked the music world.
The 63-year-old singer, sitting alone at a keyboard, performed about 90 seconds of Rush’s 1981 track “Limelight.” Gowan then told the audience at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix: “Thank you to one of the greatest drummers and certainly one of the all-time greatest lyricists, Neil Peart.”
MORE: Rush Drummer Neil Peart Dead At 67
On Facebook, Styx drummer Todd Sucherman said Gowan played “Limelight” just before doing the Styx classic “Come Sail Away.” He shared: “I was off stage down a hallway listening to this beautiful tribute. From my vantage point I couldn’t see Lawrence (as the stage was spinning.) All I could see was my drum kit spinning alone in the centre of the stage as this song played, and for me… it was a moment.”
Gowan, who had hits in the ‘80s like “Criminal Mind” and “Strange Animal,” has been fronting Styx since 1999.
It was announced Friday that Peart died last Tuesday of brain cancer. He was 67. All weekend, tributes poured in from some of the biggest names in rock and roll.
Watch fan footage of the tribute below: