2025 was my seventh full year as a member of Kansas. It was a year like no other and our busiest on the road since my first year on tour with the band in 2019. Coming off the highs of our 50th Anniversary tour the year before, the plan was to hit the ground running with a sleek “Kansas Classics” tour that would have us playing all over the US and some of Canada throughout the year.
To start the year, a few of my bandmates joined me at the studio to dig into “Jets Overhead,” a song that Zak Rizvi and I wrote for the Absence of Presence album. We were aiming to get it into the set list at some point during the year. It would have to wait, however, as there were other pressing concerns.
Seemingly right off the bat, weather complicated travel to some of the year’s first shows, and that was just a little foreshadowing of the challenges the band would face in the months to come. In February, our lead singer Ronnie Platt was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Thanks to early detection and finding a top surgeon, Ronnie was singing again, cancer-free, by April. It’s remarkable beyond words how quick that turnaround was.
Not long after our return to the stage, our bassist Dan McGowan became a first-time dad. While he took paternity leave, my longtime friend Dave Edwards filled in admirably on bass. I was thrilled to welcome Dave to the extended Kansas family (I wrote more about this experience here), and he will be showing up again later in the year, albeit in a different role.
As we entered the spring, we started playing shows with some other classic bands we were thrilled to share the stage with. A good stretch of the year was on a co-headlining tour with .38 Special, and we also would have shows with The Outlaws, Night Ranger, Jefferson Starship, Blue Oyster Cult, and Pure Prairie League throughout the year.
During the summer tour we were also thrilled to have an opportunity to be joined onstage by four original Kansas band members. Drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Richard Williams are still very much a part of the band, though touring has become difficult. Original guitarist/songwriter Kerry Livgren and bassist Dave Hope were able to join Phil, Richard, and the rest of us onstage in Bonner Springs, Kansas for a special appearance.
To make up for the downtime earlier in the year, our tour schedule for the summer and fall was packed. Guitarist Scott Bernard, who was filling in for Richard on select dates, was welcomed as a full-time band member. I met Scott when I was performing at the South By Southwest Music Festival (SXSW) in 2013. He introduced himself as a fan of my music (clearly a gentleman of distinguished taste), oh, and he was Kenny Loggins’ guitarist. Not too shabby. As I got to know Scott over the years, we learned of our shared appreciation for power-pop, prog, and, of course, the music of Kansas. He was exactly the musician that Richard wanted to represent this music, and he came out of the gate on fire.
During this summer tour, I learned that we would be performing one concert in November with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players. As Musical Director, my task was to take the orchestral arrangements that the band had from the Know Place Like Home tour album, edit the arrangements for a 14-piece orchestra (down from 30), and help choose a conductor.
Some of you may know that I have a bit of experience with the whole “rock band with orchestra” thing. I was the keyboardist for Yes on their Symphonic tour in 2001. Oh, and the “Symphonic Live” video is being reissued in January. As a member of Renaissance in 2009–10 and again in 2014–2016, my role was to re-create all the orchestral parts originally recorded by the band. I also played some shows with Windborne Music, performing orchestral concerts featuring the music of Prince and Journey. Even in my first year with Kansas, we played with an orchestra behind us. All of this is to say that I was familiar with this world, and I knew that one of the keys to success would be to pick the right conductor. Someone who really knew the “feel” of the songs, not just the notes on the page.
We had our conductor in our ol’ friend Dave Edwards. He had been clutch earlier this year on bass, had conducting experience, and he took on the role with care and passion. Performing in my home state, the concert was a highlight of my year.
It was great to see some heavy-hitters in the audience, including my friend and keyboard great Jordan Rudess, as well as the legendary Derek Shulman, former lead singer of Gentle Giant and Music Industry powerhouse.
Looking back at the year I was also grateful to have played for some of my heroes, including Patrick Moraz and Al Greenwood, original keyboardist for Foreigner. Kenny Loggins did get to see us this year after all, too.
We toured hard this year. And I’m happy to say that by December we finally got “Jets Overhead” in the set, too.
Did you see Kansas in 2025? What was your favorite moment?
I wish you all a Happy New Year, and we'll see you in 2026!
Tom
PS: CD Value Packs now available at tombrislin.bandcamp.com .