Leonid & Friends open a Florida swing at the Peabody

The horn-driven tribute to Chicago plays Daytona Beach's Peabody Auditorium on Thursday, April 22, 2027.

If you grew up with "25 or 6 to 4" on the car radio, you know the sound: a horn section that hits like a single instrument, a rhythm section that never lets up, harmonies stacked on top. Leonid & Friends have built a touring career on getting that sound right, and they're bringing it to Daytona Beach in April.

The group announced on Oct. 26 that it will play Peabody Auditorium on Thursday, April 22, 2027, with a 7:30 p.m. start. Tickets are on sale through AXS. The Peabody holds about 2,521, plenty of seats for a crowd that tends to bring friends.

Leonid & Friends are best known as a tribute to the band Chicago. Venues booking the tour bill them that way, with The Capitol Theatre and Hershey Theatre among the rooms hosting them in 2027. The repertoire reaches beyond one band, though. The City of Clearwater's listing for the group's BayCare Sound date says Leonid & Friends will perform the music of Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Steely Dan and more, which is a pretty good map of 1970s horn-rock and soul. That explains the R&B and soul tag on this show.

Daytona is the first Florida date we've seen on this spring run, and it kicks off a tight swing through the state. Two nights later, the group plays The BayCare Sound in Clearwater on April 24. It then heads to Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center on April 26, presented with AEG Presents, and Jacksonville's Florida Theatre on April 27. From there the tour moves north, with stops including Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown, N.J. on May 21 and The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on May 26.

For Volusia County, that means the band arrives here first and fresh, before a week of back-to-back Florida theaters. A Thursday night at the Peabody, a proper auditorium with real seats and good sightlines, is the right setting for a show that's as much about musicianship as nostalgia. Tribute acts live or die on the details: the trumpet lines, the vocal blend, the exact feel of a groove. A crowd that knows these records cold will be listening for all of it.

It's also an easy night to share. This is the kind of show where parents bring grown kids and longtime fans bring the friend who swears they don't know any Chicago songs until the first chorus hits.

Doors and parking details will be on the Peabody's side closer to the date, but the start time is 7:30 p.m. Get there early, find your seat, and be ready for the horns.

Sources: Leonid & Friends tickets – AXS (axs.com); The Capitol Theatre: Leonid & Friends (thecapitoltheatre.com); Hershey Theatre: Leonid & Friends (hersheyentertainment.com); City of Clearwater: Leonid & Friends at The BayCare Sound (myclearwater.com); Dr. Phillips Center: Leonid & Friends (drphillipscenter.org); Florida Theatre: Leonid & Friends (floridatheatre.com); New Jersey Stage: Leonid and Friends at Mayo Performing Arts Center (newjerseystage.com); JamBase: Leonid & Friends at Peabody Auditorium (jambase.com)