Finalists for the 12th annual hennemusic Rock News Awards are chosen by readers: the Rock News Story Of The Year is determined by page views, while the Rock News Artist Of The Year is based on the combined total page views of the top 50 hennemusic rock news stories of the past twelve months.
The 2021 hennemusic Rock News Awards winners will be announced on Friday, December 17.
2021 Rock News Artist Of The Year – Top 10
10 – RUSH
09 – THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
08 – DEEP PURPLE
07 – PINK FLOYD
06 – FLEETWOOD MAC
05 – JOURNEY
04 – MAMMOTH WVH
03 – ZZ TOP
Rock News Artist of The Year No. 2 – KISS
KISS closed out 2020 with a virtual pay-per-view concert on New Year's Eve from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as part of the band’s ongoing "End Of The Road" farewell tour, which opened in Vancouver, BC in January of 2019.
As the live music industry continued to be affected during the pandemic, KISS adjusted their tour schedule in the spring, moving an Australian leg to late 2021 (they would later be moved again to early 2022).
In April, KISS revealed details of a new documentary that would air on A&E in June: “Biography: KISStory” would chronicles the band’s five decades in the business and give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the group’s rise to fame as seen through original recording sessions, home movies and rare footage.
KISS would screen the first of the two-part A&E project at the 2021 Tribeca Festival in New York City on June 11 and perform a mini-set at the outdoor event.
In sync with the film’s preview, KISS launched their official live bootleg series, “Off The Soundboard”, with a 2001 concert from Tokyo, Japan, and they expanded a rescheduled US tour which would begin in August.
Ahead of the tour relaunch in August, the group rescheduled a series of South American shows to 2022 and announced a Las Vegas residency that would start in late December.
A week after the US tour opening, the band postponed a pair of shows after Paul Stanley tested positive for COVID-19, and did the same for more dates in early September after Gene Simmons tested positive for the virus, as well.
In September, KISS shared plans to release a series of expanded 45th anniversary reissues of their 1976 album, “Destroyer”, in the fall; the reissue would feature a number of previously-unreleased tracks, a live performance from the L’Olympia in Paris, France, and more.
While the group were hosting the rescheduled KISS Kruise X in late October, KISS’ Las Vegas residency shows were cancelled without any notice or official statement from the group at the time.
In sync with its late November release, KISS streamed the 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition of their 1976 album, “Destroyer”, in full – listen to the expanded package here.
KISS are currently scheduled to resume the farewell tour in Australia in March 2022.
See also:
Search KISS at hennemusic
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