Features

Kansas Is A Band: Kansas Live

Golden State Theatre; Monterey, CA, USA; September 4, 2025

by Jason Warburg

The fourth rock concert I ever went to, in August 1978, was headlined by Kansas*. The group was riding high on the wings of two consecutive hit albums, Leftoverture and Point Of Know Return. Each spun off a Top 12 single (“Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust In The Wind,” respectively) and featured the group’s dynamic, distinctly American hybrid of arena-prog, complex and multi-layered music that is nonetheless rich with melodic hooks.

The last rock concert I went to was last night, and once again the featured performer was Kansas, a band that long since graduated to “An Evening With…” status as its catalog ballooned to 16 albums. The current group’s show at the Golden State Theatre here in Monterey California was terrific—powerful, energetic, skillfully played and enthusiastically received by a nearly full house.

Here's the thing: not a single member of the group I saw in 1978 was on stage last night. And yet there is no doubt in my mind that the band I saw was Kansas.

This sort of development has historically been more accepted in the rhythm and blues and soul genres. If you buy a ticket to see The Temptations, The Four Tops, or The Spinners in 2025, you know you won’t be seeing any original members, and that’s okay. The point is to hear the music presented with skill and authority by performers who love it and are committed to keeping it alive.

As time marches inexorably on, more and more rock bands of a certain age are following suit. If you go to see any of the following groups today, you won’t find a single original member playing in them: Blood Sweat & Tears, Canned Heat, The Hollies, Little River Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Quiet Riot, Thin Lizzy, Yes. Also still out there with no original members is Foreigner, now with its fourth lead singer in place. Is the band Foreigner? Co-founders Mick Jones and Lou Gramm say it is, even if their own health issues prevent them from making more than the occasional guest appearance.

In the case of Kansas, the lineup has steadily evolved over the decades, featuring 17 different members in a wide range of configurations. From 1987 to 2024, the lineup was anchored by founding guitarist Rich Williams and founding drummer Phil Ehart, with other members filtering in and out. Today Ehart, 74, continues to manage the band, but has not toured since suffering a heart attack in February of last year. Williams, 75, had toured steadily with the band until a few weeks ago, when he announced that, because of health issues, he would remain a band member, but only play at select shows.

The lineup I saw last night includes Ronnie Platt (lead and backing vocals, keyboards), Zak Rizvi (lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals), Tom Brislin (keyboards, backing and lead vocals), Joe Deninzon (violin, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Dan McGowan (bass, backing and lead vocals), Scott Bernard (lead and rhythm guitar), and Eric Holmquist (drums). Platt has been the lead singer of Kansas for 11 years, since Steve Walsh retired in 2014. Rizvi has been in and out of the band for the past decade, Brislin has been on board since 2019, and between them, Rizvi and Brislin (Meat Loaf, Debbie Harry, Yes) wrote most of the group’s very strong 2020 album The Absence Of Presence.

Filling out the band, Deninzon previously led Stratospheerius and plays co-founder Robby Steinhardt’s parts with gusto and authority, and the prodigiously talented McGowan, Holmquist and Bernard each have past experience substituting for the man they replaced. Last night, each played their roles with commitment, enthusiasm, and tremendous skill—so much so that it’s impossible to say whether it would have been better with one or more members of the original band on stage. Would it have been heart-warming? Of course. Sentimental? No doubt. But after watching this lineup blaze through a tight set of Kansas classics and deep cuts with genuine passion and exuberance, there’s no arguing with the proposition that, right now, this lineup is Kansas.

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Setlist - 9/4/25

Point Of Know Return
What's On My Mind
Play The Game Tonight
Fight Fire With Fire
Child Of Innocence
The Wall
Song For America
Dust In The Wind
Icarus - Borne On Wings Of Steel
Hold On
Can I Tell You
Portrait (He Knew)
Down The Road
Miracles Out Of Nowhere
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Carry On Wayward Son

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A saying often repeated on the group’s social media channels is that “Kansas is a band.” I’ve always taken that to mean that no single player is bigger than the band—not even founding guitarist Kerry Livgren or founding vocalist-keyboardist Walsh, who wrote most of the songs played last night. As bands like Kansas navigate their sixth decade as a going concern, it’s just not realistic to expect there will be original members on board for the kind of steady touring that’s required to keep a vintage rock band financially viable. Maybe Phil Ehart or Rich Williams or other surviving original members will come back and play some shows here and there in the future, or maybe not. What Ehart and Williams clearly want more than anything is for the band to go on, with or without them.

And why shouldn’t they? In the present, this lineup is playing the group’s music with deep love, tremendous musicianship, and infectious energy.

Kansas is a band. Long may they run.

*For the curious: on that night back in August 1978, Kansas topped a triple bill, preceded by Thin Lizzy and, in the opening slot, making their national touring debut: The Cars.