Why Kiss’ next Vegas weekend will double as an Ace Frehley farewell
Kiss says its next Land-Locked in Vegas event will include a personal Ace Frehley tribute, plus two unmasked shows.
Kiss’ upcoming Land-Locked in Vegas weekend is no longer just another fan event. The band has confirmed it will also serve as a planned tribute to Ace Frehley, whose death in October 2025 left a mark on both fans and the group.
A new focus for this year’s Vegas event
The biggest change to this year’s Land-Locked in Vegas lineup is a special all-star salute to Frehley. When plans for the second annual event were announced earlier this year, the band said the weekend would include a tribute built around his legacy.
The format is set to be unusually personal. Each member of Kiss will perform a Frehley song they chose themselves, which the band has described as a rare and deeply personal way to honor him.
That tribute will unfold during a weekend that also includes two unmasked Kiss performances, one acoustic and one electric. Other acts named for this year’s bill include Night Ranger, Bruce Kulick, Slaughter and Chris Jericho’s Kuarantine.
For fans heading to the event, that means this year’s edition is being shaped not only as a concert weekend, but as a direct acknowledgment of the guitarist’s place in the band’s history.
Why the band says it matters
Tommy Thayer said Frehley’s death was a huge loss and said it strongly affected the Kiss camp. He indicated that it especially hit Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, while also saying he felt it himself.
Thayer also pointed to something larger than past tensions. In his view, whatever interpersonal issues existed over the years, the underlying bond remained. He said Frehley was a key part of what Kiss created in the first place, and argued that his influence reaches far beyond the years when he was in the lineup.
He tied that impact to his own story as well, recalling Frehley as a major part of his teenage years as a guitarist, when he was learning parts and absorbing what made that playing style so recognizable.
Thayer said sudden losses like that can leave people feeling as if they have lost part of themselves. He compared the feeling to the reaction many had when Eddie Van Halen died, describing the kind of hole that can be left behind for listeners and musicians alike.
That is why, he said, the Vegas tribute is being carefully put together with everyone involved. It takes effect during this year’s scheduled Land-Locked in Vegas weekend, where Frehley’s absence will be felt, but also directly addressed onstage.
