BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Lehigh Valley band that is making inroads up and down the East Coast will open for KISS bassist Gene Simmons when he plays Wind Creek Event Center.
Turning the Tide, a Nazareth-based band that has played
festivals and nightclubs from Killington, Vermont, to Key West, Florida — including a show at Caesars's casino in Atlantic City tonight, April 26 — will open the May 8 show.
Turning the Tide's opening will be “more than a set — it’s a show. We’re locked and loaded."Turning the Tide guitarist guitarist John Corsale
The band's drummer, Chad Szeglia, formerly played in multi-platinum-selling hard rock band Breaking Benjamin. Other members are singer Juules Wardle, guitarist John Corsale and bassist Garrett Watts.
Tickets, at $59.50-$150, remain available on the Wind Creek websiteand the box office at 77 Wind Creek Blvd., Bethlehem.
Corsale said the band's opening will be “more than a set — it’s a show. We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go."
'Make something real'
The band, which describes its sound as fusing "classic rock energy with modern edge," also opened as a duo of Corsale and Wardle for Heart guitarist Nancy Wilson's solo show at Wind Creek in June 2023.
The full band also has played Wind Creek Casino's Molten Lounge.
The band also has played Bethlehem's Musikfest festival and performed before 40,000 people at Pocono Raceway and Musikfest.
Turning the Tide has released two original singles, “Alive” and “All I Want is You, and is working on a debut album.
“This isn’t a demo or something just for friends," guitarist John Corsale said of the upcoming disc. "We went all in. We pushed ourselves emotionally and musically to make something real."
KISS has long history in LV
Simmons, KISS's demonic bass player, now is touring with his own ground, The Gene Simmons Band.
Simmons co-founded KISS in 1972 with guitarist/singer Paul Stanley, and the group became one of the best-selling bands of all time.
In addition to playing bass and being perhaps KISS's most visual performer as he spit fire and dribbled blood, Simmons also sang on some of KISS's biggest hits, including “Calling Dr. Love," “Ladies Room," "God of Thunder," "Rock and Roll All Nite."
KISS has had a long history with the Lehigh Valley.
It first played here in two shows on the same night at Northampton’s Roxy Theater in March 1975, and played the Lehigh Valley at least a half dozen times.
This will be Simmons's first show in the Lehigh Valley since KISS played Allentown's PPL Center on just the second show of its farewell tour in 2020.
