Everything to know about KISS' hologram show after rock band announced retirement from touring

After an iconic career spanning five decades, legendary rock band KISS has officially announced their retirement from live touring and is set to break new ground with a revolutionary hologram show.

Earlier this month, Tommy Thayer, KISS' guitarist at Keep Memory Alive annual Power of Love gala in Las Vegas, revealed that they are considering cities to build the theatre for their hologram show because a "show like this" needs a specific theatre.

"A show like this needs a theatre which is built specifically for the show so we have to decide where it's going to be. And there's considerations about New York, Singapore, Dubai, London of course, but Las Vegas as well is a strong contender," Tommy revealed.

KISS was a heavy metal rock genre band. It was formed in 1973 in New York City by Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. The band is known for theatrical live performances, including visual effects, dramatic outfits and makeup, and pyrotechnics.

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The future of KISS: All about their groundbreaking hologram show

On December 2, 2023, during the final performance of their "The End of the Road" farewell tour, the band's current line-up left the stage and teased their audience with digital avatars of themselves created by George Lucas' special-effects company Industrial Light & Magic, in partnership with Pophouse Entertainment Group, as per AP News.

As per Billboard, KISS has sold their right to Pophouse Entertainment Group, which created the virtual show for the heavy metal band ABBA and will create a hologram show for KISS, too. The group's CEO, Per Sundin, told Billboard in April 2024 that they have plans for the rock band and want to extend it to a new generation.

"We have a lot of plans for KISS. We want to keep to the legacy, we want to extend it and amplify it for new generations," Sundin revealed.

KISS with Pophouse to perform Hologram show (Image via Getty)

In a video posted after the band's final tour, Gene Simmons, the bassist and co-lead singer of the hard rock band, suggested that the technology can make Paul jump higher than ever, and they can forever be iconic.

"We can be forever young and forever iconic by taking us to places we've never dreamt of before. The technology is going to make Paul Stanley jump higher than he's ever done before. If you think you are going to get rid of us, then that's not going to happen," Gene said in a video posted last year.

Furthermore, during a Q&A session at the Electric Lady Studios in New York, Gene told one of the fans that many things are planned for the fans and to take the hologram show to the next level, the authorities are spending approximately $200 million.

In a 24-second video clip posted on YouTube on December 22, 2023, titled "50 years is a long time, and what the future holds is in the making," KISS revealed that their much-anticipated hologram show will be live in 2027.

While reflecting on the reason for ending touring at the Keep Memory Alive annual Power of Love gala in Las Vegas, Tommy suggested that their band is different from the others and requires a lot of "physicality." He shared:

"We've just basically ended the touring. Gene, Paul Stanley, myself, and Eric Singer have decided that because of the physicality of what KISS does, it's a little bit different."

He continued suggesting that their performances are "heightened kind" and have decided to bow out at the stage when the band is "still really strong."

"It's a heightened kind of a performance thing, and physically, it's even way beyond what the normal groups are doing. That's why we've decided to kind of bow out when things are still really strong with the band and the band is still really hot, I applaud all the groups that are out there doing what they're doing at an advanced age," Tommy revealed.

Hinting at the expected location for the hologram show, Tommy revealed that he is a big fan of Las Vegas and can see some possibility of it happening there.

The End of the Road World Tour was KISS' final concert tour. It began on January 31, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, and concluded on December 2, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, United States.