Deep Purple, Kansas and Jefferson Starship Kick Off 2026 Summer Tour in Raleigh

The three-act bill played Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater on Aug. 4, with Deep Purple leaning heavily on new album SPLAT!

Deep Purple, Kansas and Jefferson Starship launched their 2026 summer co-headlining tour Tuesday night at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina. Deep Purple devoted nearly a third of their 15-song set to material from their new album SPLAT!, while Kansas leaned on the twin pillars of Leftoverture and Point of Know Return, and Jefferson Starship opened with a nine-song set that included a brand-new track called ‘Jet Pack.’

Deep Purple Opens Strong With SPLAT! Material Alongside Classic Hits

Deep Purple’s set balanced deep catalog loyalty with a genuine commitment to their latest record. Four of the 15 slots went to SPLAT!, their 2026 release, including ‘Arrogant Boy,’ ‘Diablo,’ ‘Scriblin’ Gib’rish’ and ‘Guinnesis.’ That proportion is notable for a band whose 58-year recording career spans 24 albums; most legacy acts in this position default to a greatest-hits parade and treat new material as a brief intermission.

The familiar anchors were all present. ‘Highway Star’ opened the show, ‘Smoke on the Water’ arrived near the end of the main set, and ‘Hush’ closed things out. The 1972 Machine Head album alone accounted for five of the 15 songs, underscoring just how central that record remains to the band’s live identity more than five decades after its release.

Deep Purple Full Set List, Raleigh, Aug. 4, 2026

• “Highway Star” (Machine Head, 1972)
• “A Bit on the Side” (=1, 2024)
• “Into the Fire” (Deep Purple in Rock, 1970)
• Guitar Solo
• “Arrogant Boy” (SPLAT!, 2026)
• “Lazy Sod” (=1, 2024)
• “Lazy” (Machine Head, 1972)
• “When a Blind Man Cries” (Machine Head, 1972)
• “Diablo” (SPLAT!, 2026)
• Keyboard Solo
• “Scriblin’ Gib’rish” (SPLAT!, 2026)
• “Space Truckin'” (Machine Head, 1972)
• “Smoke on the Water” (Machine Head, 1972)
• “Guinnesis” (SPLAT!, 2026)
• “Hush” (Shades of Deep Purple, 1968)

Kansas Brings Out Founding Guitarist Rich Williams

Kansas played a nine-song set weighted toward their two most commercially successful albums. Leftoverture (1976) and Point of Know Return (1977) together supplied six of the nine songs, including the show-closing ‘Carry On Wayward Son.’ A notable moment came during ‘Dust in the Wind,’ when founding guitarist Rich Williams joined the band on stage.

Williams’s appearance adds a layer of historical resonance for longtime fans. His presence alongside the current lineup connects the band’s present touring configuration to its classic-era roots, a gesture that carries real weight for an audience that grew up with those records.

Kansas Full Set List, Raleigh, Aug. 4, 2026

• “Point of Know Return” (Point of Know Return, 1977)
• “Paradox” (Point of Know Return, 1977)
• “Song for America” (Song for America, 1975)
• “Dust in the Wind” (Point of Know Return, 1977)
• “The Wall” (Leftoverture, 1976)
• “Hold On” (Audio-Visions, 1980)
• “Down the Road” (Song for America, 1975)
• “Miracles Out of Nowhere” (Leftoverture, 1976)
• “Carry On Wayward Son” (Leftoverture, 1976)

Jefferson Starship Navigates Five Decades in Nine Songs

Jefferson Starship opened the evening and will appear at roughly half of the tour’s stops over the next five weeks. Their nine-song set covered a wide stylistic range, moving from Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 psychedelic landmark ‘White Rabbit’ directly into Starship’s 1986 synth-pop chart-topper ‘We Built This City,’ a transition one report described as whiplash-inducing.

The set also featured a new song, ‘Jet Pack,’ giving the band a chance to introduce fresh material to an audience that may know them primarily through their classic-era recordings.

Jefferson Starship Full Set List, Raleigh, Aug. 4, 2026

• “Find Your Way Back” (Modern Times, 1981)
• “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (No Protection, 1987)
• “White Rabbit” (Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane, 1967)
• “We Built This City” (Knee Deep in the Hoopla, Starship, 1986)
• “Jet Pack” (new song)
• “Jane” (Freedom at Point Zero, 1979)
• “Somebody to Love” (Surrealistic Pillow, Jefferson Airplane, 1967)

Upcoming Tour Dates

The tour moves to Clearwater, Florida on Saturday before continuing through the U.S. and Canada. The full run is scheduled to conclude Sept. 12 in Sparks, Nevada.

• Aug. 8 — The Baycare Sound, Clearwater, FL
• Aug. 9 — Hard Rock Casino, Hollywood, FL
• Aug. 12 — Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY
• Aug. 13 — Xfinity Center, Mansfield, MA
• Aug. 15 — Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS
• Aug. 17 — Bell Place, Laval, QC
• Aug. 18 — RBC Amphitheatre, Toronto, ON
• Aug. 19 — Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
• Aug. 21 — Pine Knob, Detroit, MI
• Aug. 22 — Seneca Allegany Casino, Salamanca, NY
• Aug. 24 — Everwise Amphitheatre, Indianapolis, IN
• Aug. 25 — Ravi, Highland Park, IL

What we know

• The tour launched Aug. 4, 2026 at the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• Deep Purple played 15 songs, dedicating nearly a third of the set to their 2026 album SPLAT!
• Kansas played a nine-song set and were joined by founding guitarist Rich Williams for ‘Dust in the Wind.’
• Jefferson Starship will appear at approximately half of the tour’s stops over the next five weeks.
• Jefferson Starship’s set included a new song called ‘Jet Pack.’
• The tour is scheduled to conclude Sept. 12 in Sparks, Nevada.
• Deep Purple has released 24 albums over a 58-year recording career.

The take

Deep Purple’s decision to give SPLAT! four slots in a 15-song set is a meaningful statement of intent. Legacy rock acts at this stage of their careers face a genuine tension: audiences pay to hear the hits, but bands that coast entirely on catalog tend to stagnate creatively and, eventually, on stage. Purple has navigated this better than most. Their willingness to front-load new material rather than bury it mid-set signals confidence in the record and in their audience’s patience. Whether SPLAT! earns that confidence will become clearer as the tour progresses and crowd reactions accumulate.

The three-act structure of this bill is also worth noting. Pairing Deep Purple with Kansas makes intuitive sense; both bands occupy a similar space in the classic rock ecosystem, drawing audiences who came of age in the 1970s and have remained loyal across decades. Jefferson Starship as opener adds a West Coast psychedelic thread that stretches the bill’s historical range back to 1967. Multi-generational package tours like this have become a reliable summer format for promoters, offering audiences a full evening of familiar names rather than a single headliner with unknown support. The Canadian leg of this run, hitting Halifax, Laval, Toronto and Ottawa in quick succession, also reflects the continued strength of the classic rock touring market north of the border.

Why it matters

For classic rock fans, this tour represents one of the more substantive summer packages of 2026. Deep Purple remains one of the few acts from the hard rock founding generation still releasing and actively promoting new studio work rather than simply cycling through the hits. Kansas’s inclusion of Rich Williams adds a reunion element that rewards longtime followers. Together, the three acts on this bill cover nearly six decades of rock history in a single evening, making it a genuine event rather than a routine nostalgia run.

What’s next

The tour’s next stop is Saturday, Aug. 8 at The Baycare Sound in Clearwater, Florida, followed by Hollywood, Florida on Aug. 9. The run continues through the northeastern U.S. and Canada before wrapping up Sept. 12 in Sparks, Nevada. Jefferson Starship is confirmed for approximately half of the dates on the itinerary.

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