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Every small town has those kids who dream of making it big in the music industry. Thankfully for Ridgely’s own Blake Kinnamon, he is one of the success stories. Kinnamon and his band, 9 Dead, have taken their show to cities all over the world — most recently wrapping up a nine-country European tour. Now, they’re preparing to bring that same high-energy performance to a place that feels a little more familiar: Denton.
Despite these world travels, Kinnamon said he could imagine no better place to get his start than Ridgely. “I really loved it and miss it often,” Kinnamon said. “I had a lot of friends in the town and still do, it’s the best place I could think of for someone to grow up.”
And rather than hitting the road and never looking back, he is excited to bring his act back to the place it all began, “As long as I can remember I would always be able to make and sing off the songs of the radio when I was in middle school…in high school I had a band that would perform in front of the school.”
Kinnamon joined his first band, Along These Shores, at age 20. In 2021, he joined his current bandmates — Stauffer, Kuz, and Keply — all from Gloucester City, New Jersey, to form 9 Dead. “We met when they were looking for a full-time vocalist in late 2021,” Kinnamon said. The bandmates hit it off due to “our shared love for the music and all looking up to the same bands and musicians growing up.”
As for what got 9 Dead off the ground, Kinnamon said it has taken “A lot of persistence…We all live by the way of ‘Do you want it? Or DO YOU WANT IT?!’” This mantra has led them from playing shows “for little to nobody” to now playing for crowds of 2,500 or more in Europe. “We got here by determination, sacrifice, networking with the right people, doing good business, and friendship…As well as commitment.”
For Kinnamon, the thrill of performing is deeply personal and always a blast. “My favorite part of performing with my boys up on stage is making everyone else in the room feel the same emotions as me while I’m singing,” he said. “And seeing people sing my words back to me is the best feeling in the world.” His career highlights so far include their recent tour and working with another band from California called Suicide Silence.
Another bandmate, Stauffer, shares that same excitement. He said that his favorite part of performing with 9 Dead has been “Meeting all the fans, hearing the crowd roar after every song, and getting to see and go places I wouldn’t be able to in my normal daily life.”
Heavy metal is obviously not the genre of choice for some, especially not in a place like Caroline. But Kinnamon said he has “no ill words” for anyone who doubts him or 9 Dead. “I just hope they know how hard I’m gonna be laughing when this banger hits Denton…Haters can hate but we are crushing the game.”
That “banger” is set to hit this Saturday, October 18, at The Market Street Public House, where Kinnamon once worked. “The biggest reasoning for bringing the heavy back home is, I know where I came from and I’m proud of it,” he said. “I wanna give back to where I grew up, and this is the only way I know how.”
Kinnamon will personally be selling tickets at the door for the event. There will also be a meet and greet hosted by Red Light Liquors in Denton from 3 to 5 p.m., where fans can meet the band, get autographs, participate in a liquor tasting, and enjoy specialty food vendors before heading to the Pub for the show.
“We have no idea what the future holds for us. Every month and every year that goes by we keep getting bigger and better,” Kinnamon said. So if you want to be one of those who can say you knew 9 Dead before they were mega-famous, now is the time to hop on the bandwagon.
