First KISS Avatar Show Announced for 2027

Jon Hadusek

December 26, 2023 | 10:32am ET

The first KISS avatar concert is set to debut … in a few years. The band announced via a short teaser that “A Show Is Coming” in “2027.”

The 25-second clip features some audio snippets from excited KISS fans, as well as a brief animation of the avatars that showcases some of their superpowers — in this case, Gene Simmons’ ability to fly with bat wings.

“50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making,” reads the video’s title, in reference to the three years fans will have to wait before seeing the avatars in action.

Related Video

KISS announced plans for the avatar shows right at the end of their final concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City earlier this month. This came after Simmons had hinted that KISS could continue on in another form after the current band members’ retirement from touring, implying that younger, human musicians could don the facepaint.

Instead, KISS went the digital route, teaming up with Star Wars special-effects innovators Industrial Light & Magic and Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, which is behind the “ABBA Voyage” avatar show.

“We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we’ve never dreamed of before,” explained Simmons in the initial press release for the avatars. “The technology is going to make Paul [Stanley] jump higher than he’s ever done before.”

The KISS avatars will be literal larger-than-life representations of the iconic rockers, standing over eight-feet tall and possessing animated powers that will allow them to fly above audiences, breathe fire, and more — theatrics the band often achieved via practical effects and stunts during its many real-life live shows.

During a Q&A with fans the week of their final shows at Madison Square Garden, Simmons stated that the avatars will get better before the first show, and that “they’re spending, oh, about $200 million to take it to the next level.”

Below you can watch the teaser for the 2027 KISS avatar debut, and see a photo gallery from the band’s final show as humans.