Rare Video Shows KISS Playing the Kite Fest in St. Louis in 1974

On March 31, 1974, a little known band (at that time) wearing makeup took the stage in St. Louis for a kite festival. That band was KISS and there's new rare video unearthed showing a few brief moments from that day.

This rare 8mm clip was recently released as part of the KISS documentary on A & E. It's the 4th annual kite festival which was sponsored by KSHE in St. Louis. Little did they know that the band they brought to town were on the verge of superstardom.

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There's additional backstory from that day on a Facebook page by a person who identifies as "God of Thunder". (Nice). He's dropped a ton of pictures that show KISS on-stage from a number of different perspectives in St. Louis that day.

According to his description on Facebook, Gene Simmons thought the band would be playing a small park. He had no idea it would be a massive crowd in St. Louis Forest Park. The van they pulled up in had no windows, so they had no idea what huge event truly awaited them.

It's key to remember as KISS Online documents, March 31, 1974 was barely a month after their debut album was released. One month later on April 29, 1974, KISS would perform on The Mike Douglas Show. Their first real breakthrough album "Dressed to Kill" wouldn't be out until March of 1975. That means if you were at the 4th Annual Kite Festival in St. Louis in 1974, you got a rare glimpse into future rock and roll history with the hottest band in the world...before the rest of the world realized it.

Here's a bonus St. Louis moment of KISS history in St. Louis. Someone shared the first night of the Destroyer tour from July 28, 1976. The show sold out in just 12 hours and a 2nd show had to be added.