When Ronnie Platt hears “Carry On Wayward Son” or “Dust In the Wind” on the radio, it takes the Kansas front man back to a different time and place far away from crowded concert halls and arenas.
“When you think about how many times those songs have been played, it’s ingrained in people’s minds. It brings them back to the first time they heard the song. I was 15 or 16 years old at Q’s Pizza, making pizzas listening to the radio,” said Platt in a Nov. 1 phone interview.
He waxed nostalgic ahead of his concert that evening in Rockford, Ill., which is about an hour from where he grew up. Several of his friends from those Q’s Pizza days were planning on attending that evening’s show, he said.
The group brings its Kansas: Another Fork In the Road – 50th Anniversary Tour to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center on Nov. 15. For ticket information, go here.
Kansas formed in 1973 when Platt was in his early teens. He was in high school when the band released its “Leftoverture” album which featured “Carry On Wayward Son,” and Platt was hooked on its progressive rock sound. After his shift at Q’s, he headed home, cranked up his stereo and grabbed his guitar to play along.
The music of Kansas was a “giant influence” on his own musical style, said Platt, who joined Kansas in 2014 after Steve Walsh retired.
Platt said singing with Kansas is surreal at times. A former semi-truck driver, he sang with the band Shooting Star before joining Kansas.
“It’s so funny to go on stage and be doing that. After I sing that first line, it‘s not me anymore. The music takes over and the performance takes over,” he said.
And it’s the music not a singular personality that continues to draw people to concerts after 50 years.
Platt said the audience has changed some since he first started singing with Kansas. A decade ago, the crowd was mainly fans from the original era who Platt said kept the music alive through the decades.
The show “Supernatural” changed the Kansas fan demographic when “Carry On Wayward Son” was played in one of the episodes and became the series’ unofficial theme song.
A surprise Comic-Con appearance with the “Supernatural” crew in San Diego in 2017 “was a springboard moment. All of a sudden, we were seeing teenagers along with their parents and grandparents who were the original fans,” he said.
Platt said the band is excited to come to Georgia for the concert. Although the band was founded in Topeka, Kansas, members lived in the Atlanta area at one time. Coming to Evans is a homecoming of sorts.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years and is a Georgia Press Association award winner. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
