KISS AND DEF LEPPARD ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES

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