By Reader Staff
Fans of the band Kansas will be treated to classics, such as “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” when the legendary group performs at War Memorial, in the Festival of Sandpoint’s first announcement of the acts for the 2025 Summer Series.
With a career spanning five decades, Kansas has established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. This “garage band” from Topeka, Kan., released its debut album in 1974 and has gone on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide.
With a catalog including 16 studio albums and five live albums, Kansas has produced eight gold albums, three sextuple-Platinum albums, one platinum live album, one quadruple-Platinum single and another triple-Platinum single — that being “Dust in the Wind.”
Courtesy photo.
The band appeared on the Billboard charts for more than 200 weeks throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. “Carry On Wayward Son” continues to be one of the top five most played songs on classic rock radio, and “Dust In the Wind” has been played on the radio more than 3 million times.
The summer of 2020 marked the release of The Absence of Presence, Kansas’ 16th studio album, which debuted at No. 10 on Billboard’s Top Current Albums chart. The wide-ranging progressive rock album, released by InsideOut Music, follows up 2016’s The Prelude Implicit, which debuted at No. 14 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart.
Throughout 2016-’22, the band celebrated the anniversaries of multi-Platinum breakout albums Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, with anniversary tours for both albums. Both tours were commemorated with live album releases Leftoverture Live & Beyond (2017) and Point of Know Return Live and Beyond (2021).
The band’s current lineup includes original drummer Phil Ehart, vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin, guitarist Zak Rizvi, violinist/guitarist Joe Deninzon, bassist/vocalist Dan McGowan and original guitarist Richard Williams. Drummer Eric Holmquist is performing on drums for now, while Ehart continues to recover from a major heart attack.
Along with constant touring, Kansas continues to remain a fixture of classic rock radio and popular culture, reaching new audiences through commercials; live sports broadcasts; video games Rock Band, Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto; the band’s documentary film KANSAS: Miracles Out of Nowhere; and a guest appearance on The CW’s television show Walker.
The band’s songs have also been included in various television shows such as Supernatural, Reacher, All Elite Wrestling, South Park, The Office and The Simpsons, as well as blockbuster films including Old School, The Suicide Squad, Anchorman, Pitch Perfect and Happy Gilmore.
Tickets for Kansas go on sale Thursday, Dec. 19 at 10 a.m. at festivalatsandpoint.com.
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