The sons of two KISS legends are trading arena pyrotechnics for acoustic harmonies when they roll into Charlotte's NoDa arts district next month. Stanley Simmons, the folk-rock duo formed by Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons — sons of Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons — is set to play the Neighborhood Theatre on September 27, ahead of the October 2 release of their debut album.
The Charlotte stop is part of the band's first full North American tour, running from September 14 to November 3, according to AXS TV. The tour follows the duo's live debut on May 4 at the House of Blues Voodoo Room in San Diego. As WCCB Charlotte reports, writer Adam Wurtzel spoke directly with Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons about the project ahead of their Charlotte visit.
Stanley and Simmons grew up together as family while their fathers toured the world with KISS, but the duo didn't play music together until December 2024, when a social media cover of Simon & Garfunkel's “The Sound of Silence” unexpectedly went viral. That moment pushed them to officially form the band two months later, in February 2025, per the same account from Eddie Trunk.
A Sound Nothing Like Their Fathers' Band
Anyone expecting a leather-clad, fire-breathing spectacle in the mold of KISS will find something entirely different at Neighborhood Theatre. Stanley Simmons performs rootsy folk-rock and Americana built around acoustic harmonies, with critics drawing frequent comparisons to 1960s Laurel Canyon acts like Crosby, Stills & Nash, according to Hear 2 Zen Magazine. The outlet noted that music critics have specifically flagged the stark departure from what listeners might expect of a hard-rock “Baby Kiss.”
Before teaming up, both musicians spent years building separate careers. Evan Stanley, 32, fronted the Los Angeles rock band Amber Wild, while Nick Simmons recorded atmospheric rock under the project name Sym Fera, Forbes reports.
41 Songs Written, 12 Made the Cut
The scale of the songwriting behind the band's debut record is considerable. Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons wrote 41 original songs over an 11-month period, beginning in early 2025, before narrowing the collection down to the 12 tracks that made the final album, the outlet's report states.
That album, titled “Dancing While The World Is Ending,” was produced and managed by Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo, whose past credits include Green Day and Fleetwood Mac. Cavallo reportedly signed on after hearing the pair's early bedroom acoustic demos, according to the same report. Ahead of the album's October 2 release, the band rolled out six preview singles, including “Body Down,” “Temporary Love,” “Cellophane,” and “Lilith,” several of which arrived with cinematic music videos, per Noise11.
Pushing Back on the Nepotism Narrative
The band's name has drawn its share of online criticism, with some accusing the duo of leaning on their fathers' KISS legacy to sell tickets. Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons addressed that backlash directly in an August interview, saying their choice to use their legal surnames was inspired by classic acts like Simon & Garfunkel rather than any attempt to trade on family fame, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. The pair emphasized that family ties do not guarantee musical quality or listener acceptance, the outlet noted.
Inside NoDa's Historic Concert Hall
Neighborhood Theatre, located at 511 E. 36th Street in the historic NoDa arts district, has a history stretching back decades. The building originally opened in 1945 as the Astor Theatre movie house before being restored into a live music venue in 1997, serving as a core anchor in Charlotte's converted mill district, according to Cinema Treasures.
Today the venue holds roughly 956 patrons across its main hall and a smaller side space known as the Tap Room, per Fever. That intimate footprint stands in sharp contrast to the massive stadiums KISS filled for decades, offering Charlotte audiences a much closer look at the sons carving out their own musical identity.
