By Jessica Chasmar - The Washington Times - Wednesday, October 4, 2017
KISS band members got patriotic during Saturday night’s concert in Louisiana, temporarily pausing the classic rock show to lead the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.
After finishing up their signature song, “(I Wanna) Rock and Roll All Nite” at the Gretna Heritage Festival, guitarist Paul Stanley thanked the U.S. military and gave a shout-out to Army Maj. Steve Roberts, who was in attendance, The Times-Picayunereported.
“It’s always cool to love your country,” Mr. Stanley told the crowd.
The concert in Gretna wrapped up the band’s KISSWORLD 2017 Tour in North America and Europe, and it wasn’t the first time the pledge was made part of the show.
Last week, Mr. Stanley recited the pledge along with the audience in Sugar Land, Texas, ending it with: “God bless America! God bless our troops!”
It comes amid a renewed debate in the country about paying respect to American symbols, as athletes continue to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against racial injustice. Last year during their “Freedom to Rock” tour, KISS took a veiled shot at former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who sparked the movement.
“A lot of times the people that are born free think that freedom is free and it’s not. Freedom is only free because there are people willing to sacrifice to keep us free,” Mr. Stanley told the crowd at the time.