Kiss tease virtual concert tour – for 2027

Kiss have teased their “new era” as a virtual band will begin in three years’ time following their recent retirement from touring.

The American rock legends unveiled their 8ft “superhero” avatars – created by the team behind ABBA Voyage – during the encore of their retirement show at New York’s Madison Square Garden (MSG) last month, which was livestreamed worldwide on pay-per-view.

The digital avatars were designed by George Lucas’ San Francisco-based Industrial Light & Magic and financed by Pophouse Entertainment, which was co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus.

Now, the group have shared a short promotional video entitled: “50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making,” which states that “a show is coming” in 2027. The video includes quotes from Kiss’ Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, as well as fans of the band.

“We can live on eternally”

“The future is so exciting,” says Simmons in the below clip, with Stanley adding: “We can live on eternally.”

Kiss concluded their near five-year, 250-show End of the Road Tour at MSG on 2 December 2023. The group will also live on through other ventures including a Las Vegas museum, cruises, and a forthcoming movie and cartoon.

“Everybody should really look forward to what is going to come,” the group’s longtime manager Doc McGhee told IQ last year. “With the technology that we have, I think you’re going to see this manifest into something completely crazy – a mind-blowing experience.”

The virtual show will follow in the footsteps of the smash-hit ABBA Voyage virtual concert residency, which has created a new model for legendary artists since debuting to widespread acclaim in 2022, reportedly grossing more than $2 million (€1.6m) a week.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.