Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Ted Nugent have announced the second round of “The Midwest Rock ‘N Roll Express” tour. One of a handful of classic rock packages named by Rolling Stone as one of its “Hottest Summer Package Tours of 2012,” the three bands will team up again for a second time beginning in mid-April. It kicks off at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota and it extends through May 19 at First Niagara Pavilion in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.

PHOTOS: 2012 ROCK ‘N ROLL EXPRESS TOUR

Styx’s Tommy Shaw joked in a statement, “Blazing vocal melodies and guitars, soaring arrangements steeped in progressive rock roots, heart touching ballads you know in your bones, and that’s just my Damn Yankess brother Ted Nugent I’m talking about! Wait until Styx and REO take the stage! You might need to take the next day off after riding this glorious train!”

(Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Ted Nugent — of course — weighed in, saying, “When you live the ultimate American guitar player’s dream, with the ultimate grinding band, performing the most intense fun songs in the world to the most enthusiastic audiences alive, every tour and every concert is an indescribable celebration. Styx and REO deserve me. Here we come again baby, like dogs in heat!”

REVIEW: 2012 ROCK ‘N ROLL EXPRESS TOUR AT BLOSSOM MUSIC CENTER

Styx and REO Speedwagon will once again take turns as the closing act, with Nugent most likely closing in his home state of Michigan and in Toledo.

Midwest Rock ‘n Roll Express Tour Dates:
4/18 – Grand Forks, N.D.
4/19 – Minneapolis, Minn.
4/20 – Moline, Ill.
4/21 – Toledo, Ohio
4/23 – Springfield, Mass.
4/24 – Glens Falls, N.Y.
4/26 – East Rutherford, N.J.
4/27 – Raleigh, N.C.
4/28 – Roanoke, Va.
5/01 – Estero, Fla.
5/03 – St. Augustine, Fla.
5/05 – Atlanta, Ga.
5/08 – Tulsa, Okla.
5/10 – Kansas City, Kan.
5/11 – Lincoln, Neb.
5/14 – Grand Rapids, Mich.
5/15 – Evansville, Ind.
5/17 – Green Bay, Wis.
5/18 – St. Louis, Mo.
5/19 – Burgettstown, Pa.

- Alex Long & Carl Harp / 98.5 WNCX