Kiss confirmed upcoming farewell concert dates during tonight's episode of America's Got Talent. Details haven't been announced, but the "End of the Road" tour is expected to begin in 2019. A graphic on Kiss' official site promises more details soon.
"This is going to be our last tour," the band said. "It will be the most explosive, biggest show we've ever done. People who love us, come to see us. If you've never seen us, this is the time. This will be the show!"
Kiss have previously marketed a tour as their last. They launched a second trek in 2000 following their 1996 reunion with original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, calling it the Farewell Tour. But it turned out to only be the last with the original foursome, even though Criss left the tour before it reached Asia and Australia. The current lineup – which consists of Paul Stanley (guitar), Gene Simmons (bass), Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums) – has been intact since 2004.
Speculation began back in February, when Stanley said that his priorities were now with his family, and that there was even a possibility that Kiss could continue without either or any of its two remaining founding members. Shortly after that they filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to reserve the rights to the phrase "The End of the Road" with regard to "live performances by a musical band."
Two months later, Stanley revealed that Kiss were in the process of planning "the biggest tour we've done, the biggest show we've done," with a projected start date of January 2019. But he brushed off chatter that it would be the last, saying that the trademark was just to make sure that they would own the rights to it when the time came.
After years of public battles, with Stanley and Simmons on one side and Frehley and Criss on the other, the original lineup came together in 2014 for Kiss' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although they didn't perform. Since then, relations have improved considerably, with the two current members appearing on Frehley's solo records.
Simmons has also invited Frehley and Criss – as well as two other former members of Kiss, Bruce Kulick and Vinnie Vincent – to join him at various stops on his Vault Experience tour.
