Abandon Kansas is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band originating from Wichita,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

that formed in 2005 and went on indefinite hiatus in 2015. The band has rebranded to Glass Age in 2019 and is making new music.

History

Abandon Kansas formed in 2005 in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. The origins of the band's name is a play on the words "A band in Kansas". Abandon Kansas released their first EP independently in 2005. It was self-titled and received little recognition. Since then, Abandon Kansas has slowly gained recognition in the

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

market, achieving recognition by radio vehicles such as RadioU, video vehicles such as TVU, and music review websites such as Jesus Freak Hideout and Indie Vision Music. Gaining attention from local, independent, and few national venues, Abandon Kansas continued releasing records. 3 EPs and 1 full-length album were released from 2006 to 2009. In 2009, Abandon Kansas signed with

Gotee Records Gotee Records is a record label of Christian hip-hop, based in Franklin, Tennessee in the United States. History The label was founded in 1994 by TobyMac, Todd Collins and Joey Elwood. The first album produced is Out of Eden's '' Lovin' th ...

, a diverse record label founded by the

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith a ...

musician,

TobyMac Kevin Michael McKeehan (born October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. Widely regarded as one of the most ...

. In the months proceeding, Abandon Kansas released one project. Their debut EP on Gotee Records, '' We're All Going Somewhere'', was released on September 8, 2009. It contained no tracks that would be repeated on their proceeding full-length release, ''

Ad Astra per Aspera is a Latin language, Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has origins with Virgil, who wrote in his ''Aeneid'': "''sic itur ad astra''" ('thus one journeys to the stars') and "''opta ardua pennis astra sequi''" ('desire to pursue t ...

''. The song, "Months and Years," listed as track 5, was placed in regular rotation by RadioU, a national radio vehicle broadcasting from

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

as well as from repeaters across the United States. In 2011, Abandon Kansas released a second self-titled EP one month before releasing their debut album on

. '' Abandon Kansas'' was released on February 8, 2011, and contained four songs (including two repeats from their 2009 release) and two videos. ''

'' was released on March 8, 2011, and contained two songs from their 2011 EP. Abandon Kansas is currently on tour to promote their full-length release. "Heaven Come My Way," listed as track one, is currently in rotation on RadioU. Abandon Kansas performed on the "Mother, May I?" tour with Wavorly and Hyland. In early 2011, they had toured with Swimming with Dolphins, as well as Mike Mains and the Branches and From Indian Lakes on the first leg of the Ad Astra Per Aspera Record Release Tour. On the second leg of the tour, they performed with

Showbread Showbread (), in the King James Version shewbread, in a Biblical or Jewish context, refers to the cakes or loaves of bread which were always present, on a specially-dedicated table, in the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God. An alternativ ...

, Quiet Science, and The Wedding. In 2014, Abandon Kansas signed to Emery's independent record label and is going to release the third full-length album ''alligator'' on May 11, 2015. In June 2015, a post on the Abandon Kansas Facebook page stated the following which has put the band in an indefinite hiatus: "Due to personal and relational circumstances in my life, I have decided it would be best for me and my family to cancel the rest of AK's tour dates in 2015. This is embarrassing, and I apologize for not being in a healthy enough state of mind to perform and tour. It's become clear that I need to take care of myself and deal with issues that have long been ignored. I am already in the process of doing this now. If you've purchased tickets, please still go to the shows and support the other bands. Thank you for your love and support - Jeremy;" After nearly ten years since the band's latest release, they put out their first live album, ''Alligator (Live at Smokestack)'' on March 22, 2024.

Members

Current members

* Jeremy Spring -

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Nick Patrick -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Logan Rine -

Former members

* Brian Scheideman -

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Brian Nixon -

keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

* Chris Martin -

* Sam Presley -

* Tyler Clarensau -

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Brad Regier -

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s * Chet Kueffer -

* Michael Whipple -

* Brad Foster -

* Derek Harsch -

Keys Key, Keys, The Key or The Keys may refer to: Common uses * Key (cryptography), a piece of information needed to encode or decode a message * Key (instrument), a component of a musical instrument * Key (lock), a device used to operate a lock * ...

Discography

Studio albums

Live Albums

Extended plays

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control American Christian rock groups Gotee Records artists Musical groups established in 2005