‘Time flies when you’re having fun’: Kansas lead singer talks tours, Festival at Sandpoint and ‘Dust in the Wind’

After nearly 12 years with the band, Ronnie Platt still finds himself awestruck night after night performing with Kansas.

With the passage of time comes deserved retirements and many legendary bands finding new lead vocalists, such as Tommy DeCarlo with Boston and Arnel Pineda with Journey. But Kansas’ current lead vocalist has an open challenge for any of them – with utmost respect, of course.

“I know I belong to a very exclusive club … these iconic bands that have gotten, dare I say, ‘replacement singers,’ or I should say singers that ‘carried on’ the music – no pun intended. Yes, pun intended,” Platt said, referencing the band’s smash hit, “Carry On Wayward Son.”

“I will challenge any of those guys to see if they were a bigger fan of the band they’re singing for, as I am a fan of Kansas.”

Platt cites videos from the 1980s that can still be found on YouTube as evidence. Even four decades ago, Platt was belting deep-cut B-sides of the band he took over for in 2014. Over the years, he performed with various bands that attempted to properly cover the iconic rock group with varying degrees of success.

“That’s just how big of a Kansas fan I’ve always been, and to find myself in the position that I am, it’s surreal and it’s like winning the lottery consecutively three times,” Platt said. “I’ll be at home with my old friends from high school, and they’re like, ‘You know you’re the lead singer of Kansas, right?’ And for them to say that to me, it’s still surreal.”

When he first joined the group, Platt hoped to get at least three years and a solid handful of shows with Kansas. Almost immediately, he realized just how naive he had been.

In 2015 alone, the band played 98 shows. In early 2016, they then spent six weeks in an Atlanta studio cutting a new album, “The Prelude Implicit,” before jumping right back on the road to play 99 shows throughout the year. Beyond the exception of the pandemic era, Kansas has not performed fewer than 60 shows a year.

“It was something that I was naive to, not prepared for, but, boy, time flies when you’re having fun, right?” Platt said. “This year, we’re possibly shooting for somewhere in the 90s or low 90s. Not bad for a band that’s been around over 50 years!”

Although finishing the night with “Carry On Wayward Son” brings a certain level of energy from each crowd, Platt often finds himself the most emotional during “Dust in the Wind.”

On one end, Platt is well aware of the sheer size of the song that has been certified platinum three times over and is featured in seemingly countless movies, shows and commercials. But there’s also something about witnessing audience members shed tears to such an impactful song that Platt doesn’t take for granted.

“It’s an amazing thing to be a part of that,” Platt said. “It’s an amazing impact … it’s flattering, and I love every second of it.”

Although such an intensive schedule with so many stops annually (such as the band’s show at Spokane Tribe Casino on Friday night) can make it difficult to remember any one location, Platt recalls their Festival at Sandpoint performance last August very well.

For one, he was blown away by the “fantastic” opening band, Spokane’s own “talented bunch of kids,” Vika and the Velvets. And before going on stage later that night, Platt decided to cause a “little mischief” by roaming through the audience and making conversation while trying not to be discovered.

“What nice people up there, and it’s so beautiful to be standing on that stage and looking out at the mountains in the distance,” Platt said. “I would love to do that show again.”