KISS and Def Leppard will team up this summer for a 42-city North American tour that will “deliver good news and excitement,” says KISS guitarist Paul Stanley.
The tour begins June 23rd in West Valley City, Utah, and wraps up August 31st in Woodlands, Texas. Tickets go on sale starting Friday.
The groups announced the tour Monday at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.The press conference was streamed live via the Live Nation website.
Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott says he and Gene Simmons first discussed the idea of the two bands touring together when he and the Kiss bassist played some South American dates two years ago as part of a rock-and-roll all-stars tour. “It’s finally happened, which is fantastic,” Elliott says.
It’ll be the first time the two bands have shared a bill, though Stanley says, “We’ve run into each other at festivals. It just seemed to be a natural fit.” Stanley also noted that one of guitarist Phil Collen’s pre-Def Leppard bands, Girl, opened for KISS in the U.K. during the early ’80s.
KISS did a similar co-headlining tour with Motley Crue in 2012.
KISS released its first albums, 40 years ago, and the band will commemorate the anniversary with a slew of archival releases, including a 34-LP vinyl box set and a two-CD compilation called KISS 40. The group will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame April 10th.
Def Leppard has been writing music for the group’s next album. “We all camped out at my house last month and wrote songs, which you will hear none of this summer,” Elliott says. Collen says he expects that album to come out in 2015.
Simmons says a dollar from each ticket sold on the tour will go to to the Wounded Warrior Project and other military non-profits. Those charitable partners include the USO, Hire a Hero, Project Resiliency/The Raven Drum Foundatio, and The Augusta Warrior Project. “Politicians fart through their mouth,” Simmons says. “Only the military makes freedom possible.”
Stanley adds that the group also plans to hire vets for its crew. “We try to find a couple of vets who want to go out and be part of the team,” he says. “This is a chance for somebody to travel and be part of the KISS Army.”
Elliot says he doesn’t see any rivalry developing between the groups while they’re on tour. “It’s two great bands that are going to be playing for the same amount of time,” he says. “It’s joint forces. I don’t see it as competitive at all.”
KISS/Def Leppard tour dates:
June:
23 – USANA Amphitheater, West Valley City, Utah
25 – Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo.
27 – Sleep Country Amphitheater, Ridgefield, Wash.
29 – White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, Wash.
July:
2 – Concord Pavilion, Concord, Calif.
3 – Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Wheatland, Calif.
5 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Irvine, Calif.
6 – Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, Calif.
8 – The Forum, Los Angeles, Calif.
9 – Ak-Chin Pavilion, Phoenix, Ariz.
12 – Austin360 Amphitheater, Austin, Texas (on sale March 22nd)
13 – Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas, Texas
15 – Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
16 – Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
18 – Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, Ga. (on sale March 22nd)
19 – PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, N.C.
20 – Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, Raleigh, N.C.
22 – Cruzan Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Fla.
23 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre, Tampa, Fla.
25 – Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Va.
26 – PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J. (on sale March 22nd)
August:
1 – Xfinity Center, Mansfield, Mass.
2 – Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J.
3 – Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, N.J.
5 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (on sale March 22nd)
6 – Nikon At Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, N.Y. (on sale March 22nd)
8 – Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach, Virginia Beach, Va. (on sale March 22nd)
9 – Pavilion at Montage Mountain, Scranton, Penn.
10 – Xfinity Theatre, Hartford, Conn.
12 – Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto, On.
13 – Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien, N.Y. (on sale March 22nd)
15 – Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wisc.
16 – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill.
17 – Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.
20 – Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
22 – Klipsch Music Center, Noblesville, Ind.
23 – DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston, Mich. (on sale March 22nd)
24 – First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, Penn. (on sale March 22nd)
26 – Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
28 – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Maryland Heights, Mo. (on sale March 22nd)
29 – BOK Center, Tulsa, Okla.
31 – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Woodlands, Texas
additional source: usatoday.com
77 Responses
Now, Paul Stanley is complaining about why Tommy and Eric aren’t also being inducted into the HOF. Give me a break. Yes, Paul has a strong argument in that the HOF is not consistent in terms of who from a band gets inducted. He talks about Tommy and Eric having been in the band longer than Ace and Peter. But name me one song written by Eric or Tommy that has charted. None. I don’t care if they’ve been in the band 20 years. The question is what are their results besides going on tour? Nothing but a couple of albums that hardly sold. That is not Hall worthy. Ace and Peter with Kiss? Tons of hits on the radio and gold or platinum albums. The Hall made the right call by not allowing Tommy and Eric in – for sure. Bruce Kulick, however, is another matter. Paul should be complaining about Bruce not being inducted if anything, but all is complaining is really just about helping the current lineupl make maximum dollars on tour, else he’d be dropping Bruce’s name which he has NOT. Bruce in Kiss did have charting albums and singles.
I’ll take Rival Sons and Scorpion Child and a host of other bands that I seek out because they kick ass…. not some band that needs to hang it up….any day and twice on Sunday. I do give some love to Def Leppard though.
Are Night Ranger opening as rumored?
“Rock’s biggest bands to tour” – what a joke. If they were the two biggest bands there would be no need to co-headline, of course. And why give one Dollar to the veterans – well, maybe they are just trying to milk that fanbase among the military by suggesting that Kiss is the soundtrack to their patriotic feelings and actions. It is all so phoney. Actually, I think it is appalling to use the wounded feelings (if not bodies) of the veterans who are looking for respect and thankfulness in society (and often not getting it) to make profit by selling them tickets or make others buy tickets to support these people. It is a business move, nothing else, it has nothing to do with real compassion or respect. It is the same like the ever ongoing phoney hrase of being there “for the fans”.
Sounds good. Let’s not give the Veterans any money like all the other bands don’t. That’ll teach KISS.
Seems like you have already fallen for their little trap …
If you want the original line up, There won’t be a KISS. It’s that simple. Ace quit and was offered the a spot in the band for a third time and he declined. Peter of course was fired again.