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KISS announces the ‘absolute final shows’ of their ‘End of the Road’ farewell tour

Two men with long, black hair wearing studded leather outfits and black-and-white face paint while playing guitar.
Members of KISS perform at a Dodger Stadium concert on Halloween.
(Los Angeles Times)
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More than four years after KISS hit the road for its farewell tour, the glam metal band has announced there’s finally an end in sight.

The previously announced final tour date was in 2021, but now the band is set to conclude its “End of the Road Tour” at the end of the year at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The final curtain call is scheduled for Dec. 2, 2023 — more than 50 years after the iconic band’s first show.

The tour kicked off in Vancouver on Jan. 31, 2019, and went on a pandemic-induced hiatus pushing shows set for 2020 to 2021. In 2022, the band admitted they weren’t quite ready to say farewell, and announced that they would be adding another 100 shows to their “End of the Road Tour.”

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“It’s like painting a painting or writing a book. When somebody says, ‘When is it gonna be finished?’ You’re in the middle of it; you don’t know,” Simmons said in a 2022 interview with YouTube channel Chaoszine. “ ... this is a tour that will not stop until it stops.”

Somewhere in the skies above San Diego, the God of Thunder is eating a sugar cookie.

The final leg of the “End of the Road Tour” lists 19 shows, beginning Oct. 29 in Austin, Texas. From there, the band will hit arenas in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, then onward to Washington, Canada, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland before they close out where it all began in New York City on Dec. 1 and 2.

“KISS was born in New York City. On 23rd Street. Half a century ago. It will be a privilege and honor to finish touring at Madison Square Garden, 10 blocks and 50 years from where we first started,” the band stated on its website. “New York City has been a part of our ethos and storyline for more than four decades, so we felt it fitting to culminate our career on stage at Madison Square Garden.”

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The musicians behind the makeup include two original members, frontman Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, along with drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer.

KISS them goodbye.

KISS, known for hanging from rafters with pyrotechnics sparking the stage, will perform greatest hits like “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Shout it Out Loud” and “Beth” as well as other KISS Army favorites “Detroit Rock City,” “Deuce” and “Black Diamond.”

Presale begins March 6.

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