“Kiss will perform without makeup on Nov. 15, also talking from the stage and answering fans’ questions.“
— Las Vegas Review-Journal
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — They’re back… but… this time without the make-up, or so they say?
That’s correct, KISS have announced their return to the stage, but according to bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons, the band will perform this fall in Las Vegas, but without their trademark made-up faces.
Simmons spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the newly announced ‘KISS Army Storms Vegas‘ event that is scheduled to take place November 14th, 15th and 16th 2025, and the outspoken rock icon confirmed they will perform but without the make-up, costumes or stage-show.
The band’s bassist, also known as ‘The Demon‘, boasts at length about the band’s future related to the KISS avatars and the recently announced weekend in Sin City.
Below is information shared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal
Gene Simmons will go unmasked, but he’s never unplugged.
The Kiss co-founder is amped about avatars, eager to lead the Kiss Army into Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and says virtual Kiss will blow your boots off.
Kiss is coming back to Las Vegas this winter for Kiss Army Storms Vegas. The property-wide, fan event is set for Nov. 14-16.
Kiss will perform without makeup on Nov. 15, also talking from the stage and answering fans’ questions. The event is a partnership of the band, Pophouse Entertainment, boutique vacation Topeka, and destination company Vibee. The event celebrates the band’s 50th anniversary, and will be their first live performance since announcing their “farewell” from the stage after two shows at Madison Square Garden 15 months ago.
Experience packages, starting at $999 (not including fees) for the three-day event, are on-sale to the general public on April 7 at 7 a.m. Pacific time. For presale opps and fan-club information, go to kissonline.com.
The Kiss avatar show will ‘blow away’ Sphere technology. The next iteration of the “masked” Kiss will be a production from Pophouse — co-founded by ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus — and George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic digital-effects company. Avatars representing Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer will perform remastered music from the Kiss catalog. This is similar to the licensed “ABBA Voyage” live virtual concert running in London, which Ulvaeus’ company also developed.
Asked if he’s seen shows at Sphere, Simmons said, “Oh, yeah. Without taking anything away from it, because it’s terrific — it looks like they’ll go broke, but I hope not, because it’s all about giving people excitement. But our Kiss avatars, with the name being a placeholder, is gonna blow that away.”
Simmons described this magical production.
“Imagine if some magic happens, and you’re thrown into another realm, another dimension, another reality, and everything that you’re aware of disappears,” he said. “Oh, it’s great. It’s crazy.”
He didn’t dispute or confirm Stanley’s timeline for the show to premiere.
The founding Kiss vocalist told Billboard in September the show would premiere in Las Vegas in 2027.
“No comment, Sir,” Simmons said. “Nobody wants to find out in July what they’re getting for Christmas.”
There’s no massive production planned for the Kiss Army Storms Vegas event.
“We will not do the makeup. We will hold true to the promise,” Simmons said. “There’s no stage show. There’s no crew. We won’t have 60 people levitating drum sets and all that stuff. This is more personal gathering of the tribes, where we meet them, greet them, maybe have a Q&A.”
The event will expand across the hotel.
“There might be some Kiss tribute bands, almost like a convention, if you will,” Simmons said. “So it’s much more personal. And of course, we can’t get by without playing, so we’ll get up and do some tunes. What they are, how long, I don’t know.”
Read the full article at Las Vegas Review-Journal here.
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