KISS tour taps Buckcherry for support, Canadian cities lead concert voting

As legendary hard rock band KISS continues to track fan "demand" for its fall tour itinerary, the group has announced rock act Buckcherry as the trek's main supporting act. The group will open for KISS every night of the North American tour.

As TicketNews reported in April, KISS is letting its fans chart the path for the band's long-awaited North American tour. The iconic rock crew has partnered with Eventful.com to track where concerts are most in demand by allowing fans to cast a vote for a performance in their town.

In the statement announcing the supporting act, KISS invited Buckcherry fans to join in the voting process. The statement reminded fans, "No matter where the fans say -- 'from stadiums to cornfields' -- if there are enough votes, the KISS tour will be there!"

The tour schedule will be determined by the event planning site's vote counts, which will be weighted by city population. The final routing will be announced after voting closes on June 30. The KISS tour is expected to launch sometime in September.

According to the official KISS Web site, more than 8,000 cities have been "demanded" on Eventful. A report from Billboard noted that 15 of the top 20 cities currently leading with the most votes are in Canada. As of May 28, the nine top cities are in Canada, with votes for "Dallas metro area" rounding out the top 10.

Buckcherry's guitarist Keith Nelson told the magazine, "Canada is a great environment for rock 'n' roll. They're rabid for it, they turn out...so the fact that it's going over well in Canada does not surprise me at all."

While a definite itinerary is still in the works, the band does have ten concert appearances booked across the U.S. and Canada this summer. KISS will next take the stage for a performance at Summerfest on June 27 in Milwaukee, WI. A string of Canadian festival dates follow through July, and the calendar ends with a July 28 set at California Mid State Fair in Paso Robles, CA.

Earlier this year, KISS completed a sold-out trek across South America. Before hitting the summer festival circuit in North America, the band will be studio-bound in an effort to complete the first album of new KISS material in about 11 years, to be produced by vocalist Paul Stanley.

KISS itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)