Veteran rockers Kix will play their final show in September.
The Baltimore-based act, which formed in 1977, announced its plan to call it quits during an appearance at the M3 Rock Festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland.
In a video shared by Mark Strigl of Talking Metal, Kix vocalist Steve Whiteman can be seen telling the M3 Rock Festival crowd (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “I wanna make an announcement here. And it’s gonna be probably a little hard to get through, but I wanna do it anyway, ’cause we want you all to know. We’ve decided that after 45 years of doing this, I think we’re gonna call it a career. Not tonight. We’re gonna do a show here September 17th.”
“It’s been a long, long, long road,” he continued. “And my health is failing. Jimmy‘s [Chalfant, Kix drummer] health is definitely failing. And we just decided we’re gonna finish up these dates through the summer. And we were gonna end in Hinckley, Minnesota. And we thought, ‘Who the f–k wants to end a career in Hickley, Minnesota?’ So we brainstormed, and we said, ‘We wanna do one big final rock and roll show in the area,’ because you guys deserve it. No offense, Hinckley, but f–k that. So, September 17th will be our final show, and we’re lucky enough to be doing it here [at the Merriweather Post Pavilion], so we hope you all will come join us. Will you come join us for our final show? We’re countin’ on you.”
“So, it’s sad, but it’s just time,” Whiteman added. “You know when it’s time. It’s like an athlete. You know when it’s time. And I think it’s time. I’m tired. I can’t f–king do this anymore. [Laughs]”
Chalfant rejoined his bandmates on stage for two songs — Cold Blood and Blow My Fuse — during the band’s set on April 30th aboard this year’s Monsters Of Rock cruise. It marked his first live appearance with the band since he collapsed onstage six months ago. He also performed with the band at the M3 Rock Festival.
Kix was founded in 1977 and released its first, self-titled album on Atlantic Records more than 40 years ago. Their breakthrough came with 1988’s Blow My Fuse, which sold nearly a million copies, thanks to Don’t Close Your Eyes. The band continued to ride the hard-rock wave until 1995, when Kim took a hiatus. Nearly 10 years later, they reunited and started touring regionally. A 2008 performance at the Rocklahoma festival led to more gigs and the release of a live DVD/CD called Live In Baltimore in 2012. In 2014, the band released its seventh full-length album, Rock Your Face Off, the band’s first studio effort since 1995’s Show Business. The album debuted at No. 1 on Amazon’s Hard Rock and Metal chart, in the Top 50 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 5 on the Independent Albums chart, No. 11 on the Top Internet chart, No. 17 on the Top Rock Albums chart, No. 27 on the Indie/Small Chain Core Stores chart and No. 33 on the Physical chart.
Kix released Can’t Stop The Show: The Return Of Kix in October 2016, a two-disc DVD/CD set that entered the Billboard Top Music Video Sales chart at No. 3 and rose to the No. 1 position, the band’s highest-charting debut and first No. 1 ever in their 35-year history. The 71-minute film offered an in-depth look into Kix‘s decision to record their first new album, in almost 20 years.
In 2018, Kim celebrated the 30th anniversary of their biggest album, Blow My Fuse, with Blow My Fuse Re-Blown, a two-disc set with a remixed/remastered version of the album, along with the original demo recordings for all 10 songs. The reunion with longtime collaborator Beau Hill for this remix sparked the initiative to revisit Midnite Dynamite and take a similar approach to updating KIX‘s legacy.
On the 35th anniversary of the release of Midnite Dynamite, Kix released Midnite Dynamite Re-Lit in November 2020. For Midnite Dynamite Re-Lit, the band partnered with Hill for a blistering update of the fan-favorite album.
7 Responses
One of the greatest live bands you’ll ever see. When a support act, they always killed the headliner. On their own, secure the roof. It usually gets blown off. If you never listened to Kix, you’re truly missing out on a hell of a great rock and roll band.
I agree with you totally. I just saw these guys a couple of weeks ago on the East Coast. They were great. I usually get bored at some point watching a live show at my age but I could of watched 10 more songs! What was really great is that they sounded really great after all these years. They sang Blow my fuse last and said they were trying to play a couple of songs from each album which was really cool for me loving the deeper cuts of most bands and not just the greatest.
Probably a very wise choice but tough because making music is a calling it sticks with you it’s in your DNA, but in your 60s without label tour support AKA NO ROAD CREW cause the money isn’t there , these guys are mostly humping their own gear .. this is very hard on a 60 yr old body setting up delivering a performance then tearing down and loading up …this is not what a 60 yr old man should be doing …so I fully understand ~
I love Kix, never saw em live. I don’t think I’ll get the chance to see them before they retire, but if they say that’s it. then they went out on a high note and I’m good with that,
C,
I saw them at L’Amour a few times, they are a very good live band.
I was just a casual fan of KIX back in the day; I guess the name always made me think how good could they really be? But I saw them for the first time in the summer of 2021, outdoor festival type bill, Warrant was the headliner, Autograph, Ratt (a really poor version of), KIX, Slaughter and then Warrant. KIX totally stole the show, and Steve Whiteman was great. I hardly knew them and now I’m gonna miss them. 🙁
The closest they’ll be is Harrisburg PA from Jersey. It’s kinda doable, but I work that Friday and that weekend. Pretty much low on personal time.