‘Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’ bringing farewell tour to NE Kansas
19 March 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The American rock band KANSAS, first formed in Topeka in 1973, will be coming home this year for a live show in the Capital City.
The band made the announcement on social media on March 19, just days before its two scheduled performances in Salina for March 22 and 23. More than 20 new concert dates have been added to the band’s “50th Anniversary Tour – Another Fork in the Road.”
The Sunflower State was initially left out of the band’s international tour following its announcement in February last year with no concert dates set in Kansas. With Tuesday’s reveal, the band now has four shows total scheduled for Kansas with concerts set for Topeka and Park City near the City of Wichita. These include:
Topeka
Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 SE Eighth Street
Show at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4
Tickets go on sale starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 22
Park City
Hartman Arena, 8151 N. Hartman Arena Drive
Show at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5
Tickets go on sale to the general public starting on 10 a.m. on Friday, March 22
“This tour has already been incredibly special for the band,” said KANSAS guitarist and original member Richard Williams. “The 50th Anniversary Tour started in 2023 which commemorates KANSAS’s first year as a band. It is continuing in 2024 which commemorates the release of the first KANSAS album. There are so many places in the U.S. where we haven’t been able to play yet, Topeka and Wichita just to name two, we knew we would have to add a third and final leg to the tour. After such a successful and sold-out premiere of the tour in Pittsburgh, PA, we wanted to put an exclamation point on the tour by having the closing 50th Anniversary Tour concert take place back there at the Benedum Center.”
The current lineup for KANSAS includes original guitarist Richard Williams, bassist/vocalist Billy Greer, lead vocalist/keyboardist Ronnie Platt, keyboardist/vocalist Tom Brislin, violinist/guitarist Joe Deninzon and original drummer Phil Ehart. Eric Holmquist is currently filling in for Ehart who recently suffered a major heart attack and is still recovering. Deninzon was added to the band in 2023 following the departure of violinist David Ragsdale.
“The audiences for this 50th Anniversary Tour have been exhilarating,” Platt said. “Let me tell you, after a decade of performing in the band, the energy the fans bring each night continues to give me goosebumps. Fans in attendance seem to continue to raise their energy level and that just makes it even more fun for us up on stage than it already is!”
As part of the band’s 50th Anniversary Tour, KANSAS will also be performing ‘KANSAS Classics’ at different locations across the country, none of which are in the state of Kansas. The band has also released a new three-disk CD collection featuring tracks from across KANSAS’ discography, including a new version of “Can I Tell You.”
“As in life, our entire career has been a winding journey,” Williams said. “Whether it’s been the ‘original’ lineup signing with Don Kirshner, years on the bus, touring with Queen, and finally worldwide success peaking with Leftoverture & Point of Know Return. That was followed by various lineup changes, the valleys of the 90’s and ‘dinosaur bands’ losing steam, to our most recent ‘rebirth’ and success of our latest new music over the last decade. There have been and continue to be several forks in the road of that journey. This 50th Anniversary Tour and release represent that journey and the forks along that road.”
The band got its start in the City of Topeka with their debut album released in 1974, according to KANSAS’ website. The band has released iconic songs such as “Dust in the Wind” and “Carry on My Wayward Son” which are listed on Billboard’s Hot 100. They have managed to sell 30 million albums worldwide.
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