KISS Pays Tribute to Ace Frehley at Their First Show Since His Passing

Published on November 17, 2025Updated on August 11, 2026

On November 14, 2025, the city of Las Vegas regained its dazzling big-night glow. But this time, the atmosphere felt different. KISS took the stage for the first time since the passing of Ace Frehley, the band’s founding guitarist, a legendary figure in hard rock, master of riffs, and creator of the Spaceman character.

No fireworks, no makeup, no platforms rising ten feet into the air. Just acoustic guitars, four musicians laid bare, and a packed venue ready to pay tribute to an icon.

Ace Frehley: a pillar of KISS’s sonic identity

Ace Frehley was not just a longtime member of KISS. He was a sonic signature. His playing was instantly recognizable: finely crafted riffs, incendiary bends, explosive sustain, and a highly personal use of overdrives that gave every note a cosmic color.

His death, on October 16, 2025, was a major shock to the world of rock. Ace represented an era when electricity, sweat, and amps cranked all the way up formed a shared language.

Returning to the stage less than a month after his passing, especially in such a deliberately stripped-back setting, reflected a need to reconnect with what mattered most: the music, the instruments, the melodies, and memory.

A minimalist yet deeply musical tribute

Before playing the first chord, Paul Stanley set the emotional tone for the evening. His words were simple, almost fragile, yet full of meaning:

“Before we start, we wanted to take a moment to think about someone who laid the foundations of this band. We’re talking about Ace. Yes, we had our differences. But that’s part of being a family, too.”

The audience, holding small electric candles, turned the venue into an ocean of glowing lights. It was a touching contrast with the band’s usual energy, which normally favors explosions and the saturated feedback of tube amps.

That night was about restraint.
About musicality.
About the man behind the myth.

Setlist for the November 14, 2025 concert (KISS – Las Vegas)

An acoustic concert, without makeup or over-the-top spectacle: just the music. Here is the complete setlist, full of nods to the Frehley era.

Comin’ Home
See You Tonite
A World Without Heroes
Hard Luck Woman
Christine Sixteen
Nothin’ to Lose
Goin’ Blind
Hide Your Heart
Plaster Caster
Beth
Love Her All I Can

A selection focused on the band’s roots, vocal harmonies, acoustic textures, and the songs on which Ace had left an indelible mark.

A closer look: a setlist conceived as a conversation with absence

Each song seemed to carry a particular meaning.

“Comin’ Home”, as the opener, sounded like a return to the basics, a reminder of the era when KISS was still building its legend.
“Hard Luck Woman” and “Hide Your Heart”, rarely played live in recent years, brought back more folk-rock colors, with delicate arpeggios and three-part harmonies.
“Beth”, an iconic song from the KISS catalog, took on an added dimension in this intimate setting. The simplified arrangements, centered on guitar, vocals, and a few percussive touches, brought out the song’s vulnerability.
“Goin’ Blind”, with its slow tempo and dark chords, felt almost like a moment of confession, recalling the sensitivity hidden beneath the band’s armor.

This acoustic format made it possible to rediscover KISS in a different light: less flamboyant, more organic, almost fragile. And it felt good.

The acoustic choice: a message in itself

For a band used to Marshall amps cranked to 11, guitars plugged into compressed overdrives, and solos fueled by reverb and delay, going acoustic is a powerful statement.

This stripped-down approach made it possible to:

highlight the quality of the vocals, an aspect often overlooked beneath layers of effects;
let the harmonies breathe;
honor Ace by returning to the essentials: songwriting;
remind us that behind the costumes and pyrotechnics are musicians and songs.

Some guitar lines also directly referenced Ace’s playing, with his little ascending slides, sharp minor blues notes, and that distinctive tone he could achieve even on acoustic guitar.

An important step in KISS’s new chapter

This concert was not just a tribute: it was a turning point in the band’s journey. After their farewell tour in 2023, many thought it was all over. But KISS has never really followed the rules, whether those of show business or logic itself.

Returning without makeup, in an intimate format, was almost an artistic gesture. A way of saying:

“We’re carrying on. Differently. But we’re carrying on.”

And this new beginning could not happen without saluting the man who helped define their musical identity. Ace was not just a guitarist: he was a sound, an attitude, an imagination.

Ace Frehley: a star that continues to shine

The concert ended without any grandiose speech. Just a simple bow, one final ringing note, and the feeling that something had just been soothed.

Ace influenced thousands of guitarists through his taste for pentatonic phrases, his expressive playing, and his unique way of using distortion effects to create a cosmic aura around his solos.

His presence will continue to haunt—in the best possible way—every KISS concert.
Like a fixed star in their sonic constellation.