Here We Go Again, KISS Announces New Concert Event

Feature Photo: Tony Norkus / Shutterstock.com

You can’t fault rock stars for struggling to hang it up. Getting old isn’t easy. There’s a sense of relief when you say, “I’m done, I’m retired.”

Nonetheless, after a bit of time off the road, you start missing the roaring crowds, the adulation, and just playing music. So, here we were again, and you know what? I was pretty freaking happy about it. I love KISS.

When KISS played their supposedly final performance at Madison Square Garden in December 2023, how many rock and roll fans who had been around the block a few times really believed that would be the last time Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons would ever perform on stage together as KISS? I mean, that’s like saying Elton John has truly retired.

These are rock and roll stars who have spent almost their entire lives performing in front of crowds that go absolutely wild. You just can’t give that up. No matter how many times you announce a farewell tour or a farewell performance, one should understand that no matter how much pain your body may be in, or how sick and tired you may be of touring and performing, if you’re still breathing, you’re going to want to get back on that stage again.

The skepticism turned out to be justified.

Here was the news at the time: as for the whole deal about this being a one-off, well, if you believed that, I knew a Chick-fil-A that was actually open on a Sunday.

In a newsletter and then on the band’s website, KISS announced an unmasked, makeup-free live performance as part of the three-day KISS Army Storms Vegas event at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas from November 14 to 16, 2025. It was promoted as the band’s first live appearance since the highly publicized final shows of the End of the Road tour at Madison Square Garden in December 2023.

The announcement came as a surprise to many because KISS had repeatedly presented the End of the Road tour as their final touring chapter. Gene Simmons later clarified that the band intended to honor the promise that the 2023 shows had been their final performances in makeup, while leaving the door open to playing without the costumes and full stage production.

The Las Vegas weekend celebrated the 50th anniversary of the KISS Army. Packages included a three-night stay at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, Q&A sessions with members of KISS and manager Doc McGhee, fan activities, memorabilia, and access to performances and panels.

Former KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick was also announced as part of the event. Kulick, who played on albums such as Asylum (1985) and Revenge (1992), became one of the weekend’s major attractions and ultimately joined KISS onstage during the electric set.

The decision to perform unmasked sparked plenty of conversation among fans because the makeup-clad personas had become synonymous with KISS’s legacy. This was hardly the first time the band had gone without makeup, of course. KISS famously spent the period from 1983 until the 1996 reunion tour performing without it.

Ticket sales for the event began in the spring of 2025. Fans were directed to kissarmystormsvegas.com for the various hotel and event packages.

Meanwhile, Gene Simmons had postponed 17 dates from his planned 2025 solo tour, with the affected concerts initially expected to move into 2026. The postponements were not attributed to a health problem, and Simmons still went back on the road with the Gene Simmons Band in 2025 and continued performing solo dates in 2026.

What had originally been announced as KISS Army Storms Vegas ultimately took place as KISS Kruise: Land-Locked In Vegas from November 14 to 16, 2025. KISS opened the weekend with an outdoor unplugged performance on November 14 and returned the following night for their first full electric show in nearly two years.

Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, and Eric Singer performed a 16-song unmasked electric set on November 15. Bruce Kulick joined them for the final two songs, “Lick It Up” and “Rock And Roll All Nite.”

The return also proved that the 2025 gathering was not the end of KISS-related live events in Las Vegas. Another KISS Kruise: Land-Locked In Vegas was announced for November 13 through 15, 2026, once again at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

So, for anyone who thought they had seen KISS perform together for the last time in 2023, that turned out not to be the case. If there were actually any fans who believed it really was the last time, I wasn’t one of them. Not me.