Kansas’ 50th Anniversary Tour ‘Another Fork in the Road’ Kicks off in June 2023
The band responsible for the hit songs “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Dust in the Wind” has announced their anniversary tour scheduled to kick off in June. Fifty years after Kansas brought progressive rock to the United States, the band is hitting the road with a special musical rendition of their most popular songs for their fans.
Kansas will debut ‘Another Fork in the Road’ in Pittsburg
Almost immediately after wrapping up the “Kansas Classics” tour in May, Kansas kicks off its next tour, “Another Fork in the Road,” in Pittsburg on June 2. The tour will showcase five decades of the band’s music for fans nationwide, hitting major cities along both coasts.
According to a press release on KanasasBand.com, InsideOutMusic has released Another Fork in the Road – 50 Years of KANSAS to commemorate Kansas’s anniversary. The collection includes three CDs featuring songs selected from their extensive discography. A new version of their 1974 classic “Can I Tell You” is also featured on the album, recorded by the band’s current lineup.
Rich Williams shares thoughts on his 50-year journey
Kansas guitarist Rich Williams is one of two members who’ve stuck with the band since the beginning, so this anniversary tour is also a meaningful milestone for him. While this achievement is certainly something to celebrate, Williams hasn’t forgotten all of the highs and lows that got him to where he is in his career today.
“Our entire career has been a winding journey,” Williams stated in the press release. “Whether it’s been the ‘original’ lineup signing with Don Kirshner, years on the bus, touring with Queen, worldwide success peaking with Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, the valleys of the ’90s and ‘dinosaur bands’ losing steam, various lineup changes, to our most recent ‘rebirth’ and success of our latest new music over the last eight years – there have been several forks in the road of that journey. This 50th Anniversary Tour and release will represent that journey and the forks along that road.”
Based on his statement, they certainly gave the tour a proper title!
Ronnie Platt claims he’s ‘not allowed’ to create a setlist
With 16 studio albums under their belt, selecting songs to add to the setlist for “Another Fork in the Road” must be challenging. However, for Kansas lead vocalist Ronnie Platt, it was impossible. Platt shared how excited he is for their anniversary tour in the band’s press release, saying:
“I tell people I’m not allowed to create a setlist because it would be five hours long. There are so many songs I want to perform live. I think fans will be excited not only to hear our hits and fan favorites spanning 50 years of KANSAS, but also some songs that haven’t been performed live in decades.”
The setlist for the anniversary tour is approximately two hours, which is long enough to fill with a ton of incredible music.
Phil Ehart is still ‘really happy’ after 50 years
Like Williams, drummer Phil Ehart has also played with the band since the early days. Known as the founder of Kansas, in a way, he’s responsible for keeping things going all these decades. In January, he expressed his gratitude in an interview with UCR and talked about how happy he is with the band.
“It’s been such a long trip. Fifty years is a long time. The good news is I can remember it all. As far as how I feel about it, [I’m] really happy to be here and really happy that the band is doing well. Very happy about the new music that we’ve made. Still good friends with all the previous members of the band. It’s nothing but good news.”
Tour dates for “Kansas Classics” and “Another Fork in the Road” can be found at KansasBand.com.
