Dan Kasting Oral History

For more than five decades, Dan Kasting, Audio Engineer, has played a vital role in shaping how live music is heard, both in Indiana and on stages around the world. As an audio engineer and front-of-house mixer, Kasting worked behind the scenes to translate musical performance into powerful shared experiences—at a time when live sound technology was rapidly evolving.

Kasting’s path into audio engineering grew from a blend of musical sensitivity and technical curiosity. As a child, he sang in church and school choirs, developing a strong ear for balance and vocal clarity. At the same time, he gravitated toward electronics, taking apart radios, televisions, and audio equipment to understand how sound systems functioned. Those parallel interests—music and mechanics—became the foundation of his career.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Kasting became immersed in Indiana’s local music scene, initially helping bands move, connect, and operate sound equipment. At a time when professional PA systems were still rudimentary, he learned through hands-on problem solving, gradually building larger, more sophisticated systems and earning a reputation for understanding signal flow, speaker design, and live sound reinforcement.

His expertise soon carried him beyond local venues into national and international touring. Over the years, Kasting worked with major artists including REO Speedwagon, The Manhattan Transfer, and Frank Sinatra, among others. His work took him across the United States and around the globe, supporting concerts, festivals, and large-scale productions while adapting to sweeping changes in live audio technology.

By the late 1980s, Kasting transitioned much of his work from touring concerts to high-end corporate production, applying the same precision and discipline to conferences, product launches, and large-scale live events. In this realm, he continued to design and operate complex audio systems, overseeing everything audiences heard—from music and voiceovers to tightly choreographed live cues.

In his Amazing Indiana Music Story interview, Dan Kasting reflects on a lifetime spent shaping live sound and navigating the unseen side of the music industry. His story offers insight into the evolution of live audio technology and highlights the essential contributions of the engineers whose work makes music possible.

The Amazing Indiana Music Stories series is made possible with support from the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation, whose generous funding helps preserve and share Indiana’s rich musical heritage.

Visitors can explore more below, including the Complete Interview, Interview Highlight, and Image Gallery from Dan Kasting’s Amazing Indiana Music Story.

In this Interview Highlight, audio engineer Dan Kasting reflects on his early fascination with electronics and sound, tracing the hands-on curiosity that led him into a lifelong career in live audio. He shares how those early experiments evolved into professional work behind the scenes, eventually taking him from Indiana’s local music scene to international tours with major artists including The Manhattan Transfer, Supertramp, and the legendary Rat Pack. Together, these moments offer a glimpse into the craft, technology, and dedication required to shape how audiences experience live music.

In the Complete Interview, audio engineer Dan Kasting traces his path from early childhood experiments with electronics and choir singing to a five-decade career at the forefront of live sound. He discusses learning audio through hands-on trial and error in an era before formal training programs existed, building and modifying sound systems as touring technology rapidly evolved. Beyond his work with major touring artists including The Manhattan Transfer, Supertramp, and the Rat Pack tour, Kasting also reflects on his later transition into large-scale corporate production, where precision, system design, and reliability became just as critical as musicality. Together, these reflections offer a rare, behind-the-scenes perspective on the technical craft and career longevity of a life spent shaping how music is heard.