While performing at the M3 Rock Festival in Columbia, Maryland this week, Kix lead singer Steve Whiteman announced that the band will play its final show in September. Whiteman said: “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 Sept. 17.”
The farewell concert will take place nearby Kix’s hometown; the band was formed in Hagerstown, Maryland, roughly an hour’s drive from Columbia. Whiteman explained the band’s reasoning for their retirement: “It’s been a long, long, long road, and my health is failing. [Drummer] Jimmy [Chalfant’s] health is definitely failing. 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 Hinckley, Minnesota?’ So we brainstormed, and we said, ‘We wanna do one big final rock ‘n’ roll show in the area,’ because you guys deserve it. No offense, Hinckley, but f**k that … “So Sept. 17 will be our final show. And we’re lucky enough to be doing it here, so we hope you all will come join us. Will you come join us for our final show? We’re countin’ on you.” In 2021, Chalfant had a heart attack that required emergency surgery; and then in 2022, he collapsed onstage in Virginia due to what was described at the time as a “cardiac event.”
Dubbed “KIX… Walkin’ Away, The Final Show”, the farewell concert will take place September 17th at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD. The show will see the original band members Steve Whiteman, Brian Forsythe, Ronnie Younkins, Jimmy Chalfant, and longtime bassist Mark Schenker take the stage for the very last time, including some very special guests. Tickets to “KIX… Walkin’ Away, The Final Show” are available through Ticketmaster.
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