KISS founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons returned to Anaheim, California on 15 August 2026 to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a Los Angeles Angels game, marking 50 years since the band's landmark 1976 concert at the same site, then known as Anaheim Stadium. The band has shared an official video recap of the occasion, which it frames as a symbolic bookend linking two significant nights in the group's history and underlining its lasting influence across generations of rock fans.

The original 1976 show drew more than 40,000 spectators and helped establish KISS's reputation for elaborate, pyrotechnic-heavy live performances; fittingly, the Angels' fixture featured KISS tracks between innings and closed with a fireworks display. To mark the anniversary, the band has also released "Kiss Destroys Anaheim '76", a newly remixed recording of that original concert from Eddie Kramer's multi-track tapes, its first official public release, accompanied by a 60-page book of liner notes, photos and memorabilia. The article also notes Stanley and Simmons's prior first-pitch appearances (2011, 2018), the band's 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, its December 2025 Kennedy Center Honors, guitarist Ace Frehley's death last October, KISS's farewell tour and final 2023 Madison Square Garden shows, and its 2024 sale of its catalogue and brand to Pophouse Entertainment.