Buffalo's KISS THIS! and the Goo Goo Dolls' Robby Takac are collaborating on a new music video, "Hard Luck Woman", and they’ll premiere it at the 18th Annual Music Is Art Festival on Saturday, September 12 between 6 and 7 PM, ET/3 and 4 PM, PT/ between midnight and 1 AM in Poland. The performance will be on the "Friends of MIA" channel at musicisart.org.

With the unprecedented pandemic, Robby and his "Music Is Art" team will be holding the festival online. The Virtual Festival runs from 6 PM till midnight, ET on www.musicisart.org. There will be multiple channels streaming simultaneously, with various content, allowing the viewer to pick and choose what parts of the festival they desire to watch.

The "Music is Art" organization is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3), founded by Takac in 2003. Music is Art operates in conjunction with its staff, sponsors, and volunteers, as well as collaborations with several partner organizations. Every year the "Music is Art" festival is proud to enrich the Western New York community with access to live music. Their hope is to encourage people to find their musical voice, think about how music touches their lives, and most importantly think about the fact that music is art.

To commemorate this "first" for MIA, Robby teamed up with crowd favorites, KISS THIS! - the East Coast's premiere KISS tribute band, for another "first," a cover of the KISS classic, "Hard Luck Woman". KISS THIS! & Takac filmed a video for the song with Promoting Buffalo's Charles Butera. Butera's advertising agency and production company has a decade of video production experience, utilizing all state of the art and industry leading tools; Promoting Buffalo also specializes in graphic design and photography for many local artists and businesses.

KISS THIS! has been a staple of "Music Is Art" since 2016, as they performed at the Festival for the first time that year, opening for the Goo Goo Dolls, in front on thousands of attendees at Delaware Park. According to KISS THIS! founder, John Jeffrey, the band was apprehensive at first, about being part of MIA, "Most of the artists performing at Music Is Art were playing original music, so - being a tribute band - we were uncertain as to how we would be accepted. However, there aren't many bands that do what we do on a visual level. With the fact that music IS art, the theatrical presentation of KISS, which we attempt to replicate in our performances, really bridges the gap between the mediums of music and art." Both KISS's "Starchild" co-founder Paul Stanley and Jeffrey studied the arts, so he says, "I feel a kindred spirit," as he oversees everything from the staging, lighting, and the overall look of KISS THIS!  

"We're really thrilled to have the chance to collaborate with Robby, as he's so talented. He chose the song, 'Hard Luck Woman,' and while staying true to the original, he did it in his style--sounding like himself!"

Jeffrey added appreciation, "We owe everything to KISS. We're grateful how they treat their fans, that they allow tribute bands to continue, and allow us to play their songs, and wear the costumes and the makeup." He emphasizes gratitude to everyone that donated their time to recording the song and to Promoting Buffalo for producing the video, "we're not doing this to make money. All these people donated their time. When this video is shown across the world, and if they want to donate money, it all will go to Music Is Art. Music Is Art's cause is to keep music and the arts alive in Western New York."

KISS THIS! will also be performing live, from the "Kreepie's Korner" channel at 7:15 PM, EST on Saturday, September 12.

Fans can donate to the Music Is Art’s cause to bring music to Western New York at Musicisart.org Fans can donate to the Music Is Art’s cause to bring music to Western New York at Musicisart.org. Click "DONATE" (button), which will re-direct you to the Paypal website.  For other methods, please email: info@musicisart.org.