Candlebox’s Kevin Martin Explains Why He’s Retiring From Touring
The clock is winding down on Candlebox singer Kevin Martin's touring career, as he revealed to Long Island radio station 94.3 The Shark that it's his intent to retire after the summer of 2023.
Candlebox are currently celebrating the 30th anniversary of their debut album, and the band itself will officially turn 31 as of this fall. But during the recent interview, Martin spoke openly about his plans to wind down his touring career. "I am retiring after next summer — yes, I am retiring," he confirmed, as can be seen in the interview below.
Delving further into his reasoning, Martin explained, "I don't know if I would have ever thought that Candlebox would be around this long. I wanted it, of course; I think every kid wants to have that opportunity and a career that lasts decades, and I'm very grateful that it has. But there comes a time where my responsibilities as a husband and a father supersede my responsibilities to the music that I make. And that's kind of where I'm at."
The singer elaborated, "I enjoy it, but it's not the love of my life anymore. And that's, I think, when you as an artist you kind of have to recognize that and step away from it. And if it means that five years after that I decide that I wanna go out and do some shows, I'll do it; if two years after that I decide I'm going to do some shows… But I won't be doing the full-band tours for two, three, four months. I don't wanna do that. It's really, really hard. And I miss my family. And physically, it's very taxing. The way I sing, it's acrobatic, so it's not something that I wanna be performing and not have my voice work. So I'd rather go out on top, I think, is the term."
While retiring from the road, at least for now, appears to be the plan, Martin says he still expects to make more music. "I know that I've got another record I have to do," he said. "And people are saying, 'Well, if you do another record, you've gotta tour on it.' Well, that's not necessarily true. I would certainly want to and have people hear it, but I think that the case is that it's probably best for me to just accept that the mindset that I'm in and what I've decided for myself is what I need to do. As much as I may wanna keep singing and doing this and putting myself in the music the way I do, I have to recognize that I'm just not in love with it the way I was."
The vocalist says that both his bandmembers and management have told him that he can't retire, especially knowing there's still an audience that loves the music, but he reiterated, "I have got to put myself first emotionally in everything I do. And that's kind of where I'm at. I don't want to stop singing a song like 'Sometimes' that means the world to me, or 'It's Alright' or 'Far Behind' or 'You,' because I love them, but I just know that it's the decision I have to make."
Candlebox most recently released their Wolves album in 2021. It's the seventh studio album, and the group still has plenty of dates on the horizon before Martin retires. Their next show comes May 19 in Tampa, Fla., and shows are currently booked into October of this year. See all of their scheduled tour dates and get ticketing info here.