KISS Concert Called Off Due to COVID Infection

Paul Stanley is fully vaccinated, band says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 27, 2021 4:46 AM CDT
KISS Calls Off Concert After Frontman Tests Positive
Pictured from left to right are Kiss members Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, and Paul Stanley as they play "Deuce" during their Freedom To Rock tour concert on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016, at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pa.   (Christopher Millette, Erie Times-News via AP)

After a long break that started in March 2020, KISS resumed their 174-date "End of the Road" farewell concert tour last week—but the rock legends have now had to call off at least one show due to a COVID infection. The band announced Thursday that a concert in Pennsylvania that night had been postponed because frontman Paul Stanley had tested positive, the Pittsburgh Tribune reports. "More information about show dates will be made available ASAP," the band said on its website. "Everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew, are fully vaccinated,” the band said. “The band and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between show."

Stanley, 69, denied rumors that he had been hospitalized with a heart issue. He tweeted: "PEOPLE!!! I am fine! I am not in ICU! My heart allows me to do 26 miles a day on my bike! I don’t know where this came from but it’s absolute nonsense." The postponement was announced shortly before the gates were scheduled to open for the Pavilion at Star Lake concert. Venue officials said tickets would be honored when the show is rescheduled. The band has concerts scheduled over the weekend in Raleigh and Atlanta, and it's not clear whether they will also be postponed.

The band, which played four shows after the tour resumed, said they have a full-time COVID protocol safety officer who ensures CDC regulations are being followed. "I would highly recommend for everybody to get two Pfizer or Moderna shots, please—for the rest of us. Even if you believe the Earth is flat, it’s not,” bassist and co-lead singer Gene Simmons told Rolling Stone last week. He said that under the tour's safety protocols, "nobody gets backstage or onstage without wearing masks, and everybody stays at a safe distance and you’ve got to wash your hands and do everything else the CDC says." He added: "Don’t listen to politicians. They’re not qualified. Listen to scientists." (More KISS stories.)

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