Bands & Musicians Who Called It Quits In 2023
From iconic classic rockers to innovative punks to a former child's star experimental project, these are the musical artists who have announced in 2023 that they've retired — or that they'll be hanging up their instruments for good in the very near future.
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00:00 From iconic classic rockers to innovative punks to a former child star's experimental
00:05 project, these are the musical artists who have announced in 2023 that they've retired,
00:09 or that they'll be hanging up their instruments for good in the very near future.
00:13 Fleetwood Mac formed in the late 1960s as an electric blues band. In the following decade,
00:18 after some lineup changes, the band reinvented itself as a soft rock juggernaut, particularly
00:22 with the additions of vocalist Stevie Nicks and guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. In the '70s
00:26 and '80s, Fleetwood Mac blew up into one of the biggest bands on Earth, thanks especially
00:30 to their smash hit album Rumors. They went on to release several more albums and eventually
00:34 became one of the most popular classic rock acts of all time.
00:37 After their 1998 tour, vocalist Christine McVie bowed out of the band, though she would
00:41 rejoin in 2014. Sadly, though, in November 2022, McVie suffered a fatal stroke at the
00:47 age of 79. Fleetwood Mac hadn't played together at that point since 2019, and McVie's death
00:52 put any speculation about any more band activities to rest.
00:55 As Stevie Nicks told Vulture,
00:57 "We really can't go any further with this. There's no reason to."
01:00 Elton John consistently churned out classic hits throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s,
01:05 including "Tiny Dancer," "Rocketman," and "Candle in the Wind." In the process, he proved
01:09 that the piano could absolutely be an effective rock and roll instrument. Over the course
01:12 of his career, he's won five Grammys, two Oscars, and a Tony.
01:16 John is a kind of legacy rock act who can still reliably fill a stadium, and he's consistently
01:20 done so for decades. When he finally decided to stop touring, it took him five years to
01:24 meet audience demand. In July 2023, his $330-date, $900-million-plus grossing "Farewell Yellowbrick
01:31 Road" series of shows wrapped up with a concert in Stockholm, Sweden. While John won't hit
01:35 the stage much anymore, he may still have another album in him. In 2023, he and his
01:39 longtime writing partner Bernie Taupin both announced that a new collection was in the
01:43 works.
01:44 With nearly 70 million records sold across their decades-long career in this country
01:47 alone, Aerosmith trails only the Eagles on the list of most commercially successful American
01:52 bands of all time. With lead singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry leading the
01:56 way, Aerosmith have consistently endured while never really changing their sound. The Boston
02:00 band created just as many memorable hits in the '70s as they did in the '80s and '90s.
02:04 "Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Aerosmith."
02:08 Following a big tour in 2015 and a Las Vegas residency, Aerosmith told the world in May
02:13 2023 that they would be winding down soon. The 40's show "Peace Out Tour" was set to
02:17 run from September 2023 to January 2024. But after Tyler strained his vocal cords so severely
02:23 that he suffered a larynx fracture, future dates were postponed. After Tyler was medically
02:27 barred from singing for 30 days, the last-ever Aerosmith show was scheduled to happen in
02:32 Cleveland on February 29, 2024.
02:35 With their story-like songs, jangly guitars, and exquisite harmonies, the Eagles racked
02:39 up dozens of hits and sold millions of albums. Despite the laid-back nature of their tunes,
02:44 tensions often ran high among the band members. Don Felder and Glenn Frey even threatened
02:48 to beat each other up on stage at what seemed like their last concert in 1980. And Frey
02:52 and the rest of the band recorded the 1979 album "The Long Run" in separate studios on
02:57 opposite coasts.
02:58 Despite all their rancor, the Eagles reunited in 1994 with the live album "Hell Freezes
03:02 Over." The reconstituted band then released the studio album "Long Road Out of Eden" in
03:07 2007. They also toured regularly, even after Frey's 2016 death, with the addition of country
03:12 star Vince Gill. In 2023, they hit the road for the Hotel California 2023 tour, in which
03:17 they played the Hotel California album all the way through. That series of dates gave
03:21 way to their farewell tour called "The Long Goodbye." They originally scheduled a 13-date
03:25 series of concerts for late 2023, though they've since extended the tour a few times.
03:30 Kiss is just as famous for their fire-filled live shows, fake blood, makeup, and giant
03:35 boots as they are for their music. They went on a supposed "farewell tour" starting in
03:39 2000, but then they kept on going. Now, their second "farewell tour" really supposedly truly
03:44 is the end of the road, as the iconic glam rockers have decided to wrap it up after 50
03:48 years. It's been a long goodbye.
03:50 The end of the road tour began in January 2019, but their shows in 2020 delayed until
03:55 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Kiss added about 100 more dates, extending
04:01 the tour into 2023. The last chunk kicked off with a show in Austin on October 29th,
04:06 and concluded with two big concerts in the band's hometown of New York City in early
04:09 December 2023. As the band put it in a statement,
04:12 "It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks
04:16 and 50 years from where we first started."
04:18 "I think we've transcended over the years being human beings, and here we are becoming
04:23 immortal."
04:25 Devo rose to fame with their unique blend of synthesizer-driven new wave that spoke
04:29 to their central thesis. Humanity wasn't evolving, but rather rapidly de-evolving, hence their
04:34 name. They've only ever had a single Top 40 hit, the iconic "Whip It," but they're also
04:38 beloved for all the other songs they've recorded, including covers of classics like "Working
04:42 in the Coal Mine" and "Satisfaction." And they're also famous for their unmistakable
04:45 yellow jumpsuits and hats called "Energy Domes."
04:48 After forming in 1972, Devo never split up, and they've instead just kept on experimenting.
04:53 Frontman Mark Mothersball also became a prolific composer for TV, film, and video games. And
04:59 in 2006, Devo's members replaced themselves with a group of children for a Disney project
05:02 called Devo 2.0. They haven't released a studio album since 2010, and they've begun tiring
05:08 of life on the road as the members reach their 70s, so they decided to stop performing. Their
05:12 2023 Celebrating 50 Years of De-Evolution Tour will be their final road trip. As Mothersball
05:17 told The Guardian,
05:18 "It's tricky being in a band. I'm looking forward to 2073. We'll play 100th anniversary
05:23 Devo shows and then maybe retire."
05:25 Kenny Loggins has been kicking around the music industry for more than 50 years. In
05:30 1970, he wrote songs for a nitty-gritty dirt band album, and shortly thereafter formed
05:34 the folk rock duo Loggins and Messina alongside Jim Messina. By the end of that decade, he
05:38 was known for releasing shiny, ultra-produced yacht rock. He co-wrote the Doobie Brothers'
05:43 "What a Fool Believes" and scored soft rock hits of his own with "This Is It" and "Whatever
05:47 I Call You, Friend." In the 1980s, he was a king of the soundtrack single, recording
05:51 smashes for such movies as "Caddy Shack," "Footloose," and "Top Gun." Loggins toured
05:55 throughout the 21st century, though he hasn't released a solo album since 2009. In 2023,
06:00 he announced that he would be wrapping up the live performance part of his career. As
06:04 he put it in a statement,
06:05 "It's been an amazing journey since starting with Jimmy Messina in 1971, and I'm fortunate
06:09 to have had such a long touring career. I don't see this as the end of my professional
06:13 career, but certainly a halt to the grind of major touring."
06:16 "Kenny Loggins, thank you for your music through the years, the joy, and the fun it's brought
06:22 us all."
06:24 Trent and Uri started Panic! at the Disco back in 2004. Their moody sensibilities and
06:28 introspective lyrics tapped right into the pop-punk zeitgeist of the era. They broke
06:32 through in a big way with their signature song, "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies." Other
06:36 smashes would soon follow, including "9 in the Afternoon" and "High Hopes," the latter
06:40 of which spent a record-breaking 65 weeks atop Billboard's Hot Rocks Songs chart.
06:45 Through it all, members slowly but steadily departed. The 2013 album "Too Weird to Live,
06:49 Too Rare to Die" was the last to feature any of the band's original lineup besides Uri.
06:54 In a January 2023 post on Panic! at the Disco's Instagram, he announced that his wife Sarah
06:58 was pregnant and also revealed,
07:00 "The prospect of being a father and getting to watch my wife become a mother is both humbling
07:03 and exciting. I look forward to this next adventure. That said, I'm going to bring this
07:07 chapter of my life to an end and put my focus and energy on my family. And with that, Panic!
07:11 at the Disco will be no more."
07:14 Kindlebox's 1993 self-titled debut album yielded three big rock radio hits, "You," "Cover Me,"
07:19 and "Far Behind," the latter of which crossed over to the top 20 of the Billboard pop chart.
07:24 The grunge styles of the era eventually fell out of favor, but the Seattle-based band continued
07:28 to record albums and perform well on rock radio stations.
07:31 Kindlebox stuck around for more than three decades, and they celebrated with a 2023 tour
07:35 commemorating the anniversary of their first LP. And as it turns out, 31 years is plenty
07:39 for band founder and frontman Kevin Martin. In 2022, he told Long Island radio station
07:44 WWSK that he would retire his band after their 2023 tour, although they have added dates
07:49 into early 2024. As he explained,
07:51 "I think every kid wants to have that opportunity in a career that lasts decades, and I'm very
07:56 grateful that it has. But there comes a time where my responsibilities as a husband and
07:59 a father supersede my responsibilities to the music that I make. And that's kind of
08:03 where I'm at."
08:04 "I enjoy it, but it's not the love of my life anymore."
08:09 The Grateful Dead were a hippie rock jam band that kept alive the countercultural spirit
08:13 of the late '60s. They spawned a subculture and a self-contained economy kept alive by
08:17 their passionate following of Deadheads. Simply put, they were more than just a band, and
08:21 even when frontman Jerry Garcia died at age 53 in 1995, the operation was so important
08:26 to so many people that it just kept on trucking.
08:29 The other band members continued to play together in various permutations, and after recruiting
08:33 John Mayer into the fold, they formed Dead & Company. The supergroup would go on to play
08:37 hundreds of shows over the course of nearly a decade, but it looks like it may finally
08:41 be coming to an end.
08:42 In October 2022, Mayer announced on Instagram that Dead & Company's upcoming summer 2023
08:47 tour would be its last.
08:50 Foreigner ruled rock radio in the late '70s and early '80s. Led by the soaring voice of
08:54 Lou Gramm and the hooky guitar riffs of Mick Jones, they churned out a string of arena
08:58 anthems like "Urgent," "Jukebox Hero," and "Cold as Ice." They also scaled the pop charts
09:02 with tender power ballads like "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "I Want to Know What
09:06 Love Is."
09:07 Gramm departed Foreigner for a solo career in 1990. Then he returned in 1992, left again
09:12 in 2003, and ultimately came back, touring with the band well into the new century and
09:16 releasing a live album in 2018. After Mick Jones underwent heart surgery in 2012, he
09:21 declared himself a part-time member of Foreigner. He would still occasionally join his bandmates
09:25 on stage, health permitting. However, in late 2022, Foreigner announced that they had a
09:29 final tour planned for 2023. As Jones noted to Billboard,
09:33 "By the end of our farewell tour, over 50 years will have passed, and that's a long
09:37 time to be on the road."
09:38 "It's not like the old days, you have to, these days, we know, you know, better."
09:44 Mr. Big's members include technical-minded musicians who had already had some musical
09:47 success before they came together. Billy Sheehan previously played bass for David Lee Roth,
09:52 guitarist Paul Gilbert had been in Racer X, and singer Eric Martin had a mid-'80s solo
09:56 career. Their 1989 self-titled debut sold poorly in the U.S., but it was a smash hit
10:01 in Japan. The group enjoyed a few more minor hits and released more than a dozen albums
10:05 well into the 2010s, many of them just for its fans in Japan.
10:09 Gilbert left Mr. Big in 1999, and then the whole band split up in 2002, but then reunited
10:14 in 2009. Then, in 2018, they weathered the death of drummer Pat Torpey. Shortly thereafter,
10:19 the band took an extended break, which officially became a retirement, in March 2023, though
10:24 they do have tour dates planned into 2024. Sheehan revealed in a statement,
10:28 "We wanted to do a proper farewell, and this seems like the right way to do it."
10:32 Punk rockers NoFX had been operating on the fringes of the rock mainstream since the early
10:36 '80s. Led by comical frontman Fat Mike, they made records full of short, frenetic songs
10:41 filled with politics, plenty of humor, and a pop sensibility. After years on the label
10:45 Epitaph Records, NoFX joined Fat Wreck Chords, co-created by Fat Mike for his own band. It
10:50 would also later release projects for other major punk acts like Rancid, Against Me, and
10:55 Descendants.
10:56 In 2021, NoFX released its 14th studio album, entitled Single Album. Then, in September
11:01 2022, Fat Mike revealed that the band would break up in 2023, though they do have tour
11:05 dates scheduled through much of 2024. As Fat Mike wrote on Instagram,
11:09 "It's been an amazing run."
11:12 Sum 41 began when a group of teenagers got together in 1996 and decided to become a NoFX
11:17 cover band. But before long, they were performing original material, and in 1999, they landed
11:22 a contract with Island Records. They soon hit it big, topping the Alternative Rock chart
11:26 with their signature song "Fat Lip," and getting plenty of airplay for subsequent singles like
11:30 "In Too Deep" and "We're All to Blame."
11:32 In May 2023, Derek Wibley, the sole founding member left in Sum 41, announced that their
11:37 upcoming studio album would be their last. That LP was later shelled for a 2024 release.
11:42 As a band revealed on social media in May 2023,
11:44 "Sum 41 will be disbanding. We will still be finishing all of our current upcoming tour
11:49 dates this year."
11:50 "Life experience will sort of dictate your sort of view of existence."
11:56 In 1983, Kix scored a minor hit with their song "Body Talk," one of the first notable
12:00 releases in a movement that would come to be known as hair metal, or glam metal. The
12:04 band members dutifully wore tight pants and teased out their hair as they played catchy,
12:08 wailing, guitar-driven jams like "Girl Money" and plaintive power ballads like "Don't Close
12:12 Your Eyes."
12:13 Alas, hair metal died out as a major commercial force in the early '90s, and Kix split up,
12:18 though not forever. They reunited, with some new members replacing the original ones in
12:21 the 2000s. They also embarked on regular tours and recorded a couple of new albums.
12:26 Only in 2023 did they eventually decide to finally and officially close it all down.
12:31 That May, frontman Steve Whiteman announced during a concert at the M3 Festival in Columbia,
12:35 Maryland, that their scheduled show for September 17th, featuring a reunion of the classic Kix
12:39 lineup, would be their last.
12:42 Alabama-based sibling act The Band Perry formed in 2005, creating a unique blend of both traditional
12:47 and pop country sounds along with some traces of rock 'n' roll. Their self-titled 2010 debut
12:52 went platinum in the U.S., reached No. 2 on the country album chart, and generated mega-hit
12:56 singles "If I Die Young," "You Lie," and "Postcard" from Paris. Just after the cycle for that
13:01 record ended, they released their follow-up, "Pioneer," in 2013, a chart-topper that spawned
13:06 four hit singles.
13:08 But then they went on a long stretch of inactivity. As of 2023, they haven't released a full-length
13:12 album since "Pioneer" or standalone singles since 2019. What was obvious became official
13:17 on March 27, 2023, as the Perry siblings co-signed a letter on their band's Instagram announcing
13:22 that the group had split up, at least for the foreseeable future. As they put it,
13:26 "We wanted to let you know that the three of us have decided to take a creative break
13:30 as a group and each focus on our individual creative pursuits. During this season, we
13:34 will continue to support each other as artists and family in all we do."
13:37 "I think the genesis of it was really about creating space to live life and make sure
13:41 that we hadn't left too much on the table for ourselves."
13:45 Former child actor Bill Moomy is best known for his role as Will Robinson on the original
13:49 1960s "Lost in Space," as well as a few episodes on the original run of "The Twilight Zone."
13:53 He would only act on occasion since then, as he instead devoted a lot of time to his
13:57 experimental comedy band, Barnes & Barnes.
14:00 In 1970, a teenage Moomy teamed up with his childhood friend, multi-instrumentalist Robert
14:05 Hamer, to make weird and silly music to entertain themselves. Then they decided to release it
14:09 to the public after they got some airplay on the nationally syndicated comedy music
14:12 show "The Dr. Demento Show." The surreal, low-budget video for their song "Fishheads"
14:16 aired on both Saturday Night Live and MTV. It would become their best-known track during
14:20 their time as a duo, during which they went by the jokey stage names Art Barnes and Artie
14:25 Barnes.
14:26 Barnes & Barnes would eventually record several full-length albums. Then, in March 2023, Moomy
14:30 announced that the band's time was essentially over due to Hamer's passing. As he wrote on
14:34 Facebook,
14:35 "Sometimes there was dissonance and silence, and sometimes we made a mighty raucous roar
14:39 together. I will miss making that unique Barnes music very much."
14:44 Anti-Flag never sold the most records, and that was partly by design. Formed in Pittsburgh
14:47 in 1988, they were a loud, aggressive punk band that sat on the far left of the political
14:52 spectrum, as their songs called out corrupt governments, police brutality, and economic
14:56 oppression. They earned a cult following and toured with like-minded acts like "Rage Against
15:00 the Machine" and "No Effects." Then in July 2023, a post on Anti-Flag's Patreon page read,
15:05 "Anti-Flag has disbanded." No reason was offered, though a September 2023 Rolling Stone article
15:11 surmised that Anti-Flag broke up in light of a rape allegation against singer-guitarist
15:15 Justin Sane. The magazine spoke with 13 women who accused Sane of various acts, including
15:19 predatory behavior, statutory rape, and sexual assault. His bandmates then released a statement
15:24 that read,
15:25 "To Justin, we believe you are very sick and in need of serious professional help. We want
15:28 to have compassion and have faith in restorative justice, but f--- you for hurting so many
15:32 people."
15:33 If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit
15:38 the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline
15:43 at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
15:47 [Music]