{"id":629182,"date":"2026-09-19T03:26:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T03:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629182\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T03:26:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T03:26:10","slug":"kiss-gene-simmons-to-receive-award-at-iebas-2026-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/629182\/","title":{"rendered":"KISS’ Gene Simmons to Receive Award at IEBA’s 2026 Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tKISS<\/a> co-founder Gene Simmons<\/a> will receive the International Entertainment Buyers Association\u2019s lifetime achievement award during the IEBA 2026 Honors & Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at The Pinnacle Nashville. The ceremony will serve as the culmination of IEBA\u2019s 56th annual conference, taking place Oct. 4-6, with daytime programming at Grand Hyatt Nashville and nighttime events at The Pinnacle.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs co-founder, bassist and vocalist of KISS, Simmons helped transform the band into a global phenomenon. KISS was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2025.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cGene Simmons embodies the kind of lasting impact the IEBA Lifetime Achievement Award was created to recognize,\u201d Brian Wagner, executive director of IEBA, said in a statement. \u201cKISS didn\u2019t simply build a catalog of iconic music; they changed the scale and possibilities of the live concert experience. Gene\u2019s vision for connecting music, performance, spectacle and brand has influenced generations of artists and live entertainment professionals, and we are incredibly proud to celebrate that legacy at IEBA 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe ceremony will also celebrate the 2026 IEBA Hall of Fame class, with inductions honoring legendary entertainer Chubby Checker<\/a> and veteran talent buyer Gil Cunningham. Established in 2010, the IEBA Hall of Fame recognizes those whose lasting contributions have helped shape the live entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

\n\tChecker had two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, \u201cThe Twist\u201d and \u201cPony Time.\u201d \u201cThe Twist\u201d was the first single to hit No. 1 in two separate chart runs, in 1960 and 1962. It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 and the National Recording Registry in 2012. Checker was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cChubby Checker represents something that every talent buyer understands, the extraordinary value of an artist who can connect with an audience generation after generation,\u201d said Wagner. \u201cHis influence extends far beyond an iconic song or dance. He helped change the way audiences participate in live music, and more than six decades later, that connection remains at the heart of what makes live entertainment so powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tOver more than 37 years in live entertainment, Cunningham has earned recognition from both IEBA and the Academy of Country Music. His honors include IEBA talent buyer, event producer, festival buyer and entertainment buyer of the year, the IEBA president\u2019s award and multiple ACM Don Romeo talent buyer of the year honors, including his fifth ACM buyer of the year recognition in 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tCunningham has served as both president and vp of the IEBA, while also serving the broader industry through leadership roles and committee work with organizations including the Country Music Association and the T.J. Martell Foundation.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGil Cunningham represents the very best of the talent-buying profession and of IEBA,\u201d said Barry Jeffrey, IEBA chairman emeritus and WME partner. \u201cGreat buyers combine knowledge and instinct with relationships, trust and a willingness to take a chance on an artist before everyone else sees what they see. Gil has done that throughout his career, while giving back to this organization and mentoring the people coming behind him. His impact can be seen in the artists he has championed, the events he has helped build and the professionals whose careers he has influenced.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe IEBA Honors & Awards ceremony recognizes outstanding achievement across the live entertainment business, with IEBA members selecting winners in categories including club, casino, theater, arena, amphitheater, fair\/expo and festival of the year, as well as awards recognizing leading talent buyers, agents, promoters, venue executives, young professionals and music and entertainment industry educators.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Honors & Awards cap three days of programming, bringing together the professionals who drive the live entertainment business. IEBA 2026 will feature keynote conversations, educational sessions, industry roundtables, networking, agency parties, live performances and the association\u2019s signature Agents Alley, where buyers connect directly with hundreds of agents representing touring talent.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor more information about IEBA and the 56th annual conference, visit the IEBA website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KISS co-founder Gene Simmons will receive the International Entertainment Buyers Association\u2019s lifetime achievement award during the IEBA 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629183,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6971,93,15882,61,267172,60,13349,278,128438,633],"class_list":["post-629182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-awards","tag-entertainment","tag-genre-rock","tag-ie","tag-ieba","tag-ireland","tag-live-music","tag-music","tag-music-business","tag-music-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629182"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629182\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}