KIX To Call It Quits After Playing 'Final' Show In Maryland

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 earlier today (Sunday, May 7) 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 fuck 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 fuck 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," Steve 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 fucking do this anymore. [Laughs]"

Chalfant rejoined his KIX bandmates on stage for two songs — "Cold Blood" and "Blow My Fuse" — during the band's set on April 30 aboard this year's Monsters Of Rock cruise. It marked his first live appearance with KIX since he collapsed onstage six months ago. Chalfant also performed with KIX at the M3 Rock Festival.

On November 18, 2022, Chalfant suffered a cardiac arrest during KIX's concert at the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, Virginia. Chalfant was unconscious and carried offstage before performing the last song of the show.

For its recent live appearances, including the Monsters Of Rock cruise, KIX had been using drummer Matt Starr, who has previously played with Ace Frehley, MR. BIG and BLACK SWAN, among others.

KIX guitarist Ronnie Younkins has been unable to tour with the group for the past couple of years after repeatedly getting in trouble with the police due to his battle with alcoholism. Ronnie is being replaced in KIX by Bob Paré, an accomplished musician who studied at the Music Institute in Los Angeles and taught music theory and guitar at several institutions, including Western Maryland College and Maryland Institute of Music.

Bob was a session musician for several independent label releases, and has spent most of his long career performing live in the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area with various bands, including FORCER, EVER RISE, PROJECT: EUPHORIA and, most recently, the RUSH tribute band SUN DOGS with KIX bassist Mark Schenker.

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 KIX took a hiatus. Nearly 10 years later, KIX 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, KIX 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, KIX 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", KIX partnered with Hill for a blistering update of the fan-favorite album.