Paul Stanley, co‑lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for legendary rock band KISS, is making bold claims about the band’s upcoming avatar‑based show, insisting it will redefine what fans expect from immersive live music experiences — and make other high‑tech performances, like those at the Las Vegas Sphere, seem underwhelming by comparison.
In interviews discussing the band’s plans for the futuristic production, Stanley emphasized that the KISS avatar show — currently slated to debut in 2027 — will be nothing like simple holograms or gimmicky recreations of past concerts. “This avatar show that’s going to be in Vegas is gonna blow everybody’s minds,” Stanley said, adding that it’s “not like what some people have called holograms and all this kind of experimental and kitschy stuff. This is seeing us. This is as real as I am, and I think it’s gonna just blow people away.”
Stanley argued that KISS are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the technology because the band has always pushed boundaries and embraced spectacle. “There’s no reason for us to live within the boundaries of other rock bands,” he said. “They live within those boundaries because that’s all they can be. And it’s great, but we are not that — we’re KISS.”
Bassist Gene Simmons echoed those sentiments and went further, contrasting the band’s ambitious avatar show with what audiences experience at the Sphere, the state‑of‑the‑art Las Vegas venue known for its massive immersive LED displays. “We’re gonna blow your socks off in a way multiple times more exciting than the Sphere,” Simmons said. “People who go to Vegas to see a show in the Sphere are awed by the massive scale of everything. There’s nothing wrong with the Sphere, [but] I’ll go out on a limb and make sure people understand this [the KISS avatars] is gonna make that seem like popcorn fart. It’ll be mind‑blowing.”
According to Simmons, the avatar production will engage multiple senses, not just visuals. He described scenarios where — for example — if a dragon appears on screen, audiences will feel the heat and smell the fire and brimstone. “We attack the senses instead of virtual reality, which only attacks the eyes,” he said.
The KISS avatar show is being developed with support from Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment, the same organization behind ABBA’s Voyage production, and reportedly involves advanced motion‑capture technology with creative input from George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic.
The project was first revealed in 2023 when, at the band’s final concert in New York, digital avatar versions of the members appeared onstage, teasing the future concept. Fans received mixed reactions to that early glimpse, but Stanley has stressed that the final product will be far more sophisticated and immersive than what was initially shown.
While the band formally retired from touring in 2023 with their End of the Road tour, they have clearly signaled that the KISS brand and live entertainment presence is far from over. The avatar show — described by Stanley as capable of taking audiences “to another level” — is planned not only for Las Vegas but potentially on a global scale, though the exact logistics of future venues have yet to be fully detailed.
With plans for heat, fire, wind and multi‑sensory effects, alongside the band’s iconic music and personas, the KISS avatar show aims to push the concept of concert entertainment well beyond what current immersive venues like the Sphere offer, according to Stanley and Simmons.
