Smashing Pumpkins

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan will be playing classics from his beloved group when he hits the road this summer, though his backing group will look a little different.

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Hitting the live trail throughout June, Corgan will be joined by his new band, the Machines of God, for the 16-date tour of North America. 

Dubbed A Return to Zero, the trek sees Corgan and his band touring in support of the 30th anniversary of the Smashing Pumpkins’ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, and the 25th anniversary of the 2000 albums Machina/The Machines of God and Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The tour will feature classics and deep cuts from the records, along with selections from 2024’s Aghori Mhori Mei.

Joining Corgan in the Machines of God is nascent Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong, drummer Jake Hayden, and bassist Kid Tigrrr (aka Jenna Fournier of NIIGHTS).

This isn’t the only retrospective look that Corgan is taking in 2025. In early March, Corgan detailed a forthcoming series of performances which sees him and the Lyric Opera of Chicago reimagining Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in a new operatic light in November. “Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way,” Corgan explained.

Mellon Collie was issued in 1995 as the band’s third album, and managed to become the Smashing Pumpkins’ first release to debut atop the Billboard 200. The record also garnered seven nominations at the 1997 Grammys, including album of the year and best alternative music album, ultimately winning best hard rock performance for lead single, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”

Meanwhile, Machina/The Machines of God arrived in February 2000 as the band’s last studio album to be commercially released ahead of their breakup later that year. The record hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200, and received a Grammy nomination for best recording package.

Its follow-up, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in September of 2000 as a free download after plans to release the records as a double album fell through. A long-awaited reissue of the Machina albums is set to arrive later in the year.

Billy Corgan and the Machines of God – A Return to Zero North American Tour

June 7 – Baltimore Soundstage, Baltimore, MDJune 9 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MAJune 11 – Kee to Bala, Muskoka, ONJune 12 – History, Toronto, ONJune 13 – Beanfield Theatre, Montreal, QCJune 15 – Irving Plaza, New York, NYJune 16 – Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia, PAJune 17 – Archer Music Hall, Allentown, PAJune 19 – St. Andrew’s Hall, Detroit, MIJune 20 – Taste of Joliet, Joliet, ILJune 21 – Intersection, Grand Rapids, MIJune 23 – Roxian Theatre, Pittsburgh, PAJune 25 – House of Blues Cleveland, Cleveland, OHJune 26 – Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OHJune 27 – Summerfest, Milwaukee, WIJune 29 – Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN

30 years since the Smashing Pumpkins released Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, frontman Billy Corgan is reimagining the record for a series of opera performances.

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The event, dubbed A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, will take place in the musician’s hometown, with the Lyric Opera of Chicago hosting the event for seven evenings beginning Nov. 21. Tickets to the event go on sale from Friday, April 11.

The arrangements and orchestrations for the production are being undertaken by Corgan and James Lowe to craft “a new commission inspired by one of the greatest alternative albums of all time.” According to a description of the event on the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s website, Corgan and some unnamed special guests will team up with the Lyric Opera’s Orchestra and Chorus to offer a “completely new, sonic and visual experience” that provides the chance for fans hear the Smashing Pumpkins’ music “in a sumptuous new dimension.”

“It is thrilling to collaborate with Lyric head John Mangum, my musical partner James Lowe, and all of the artists at Lyric in reimagining this very special and historic album, and to discover how Lyric’s full operatic treatment is helping me experience my own compositions in powerful new ways,” Corgan said in a statement.

“Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way.”

“Next season is filled with a tremendous range of lavish and powerful opera productions that we are excited to share with our audiences,” added Lyric Opera of Chicago President and CEO John Mangum. “I’m just as excited about the special performances like ‘A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness’ that open the aperture and expand the definition of opera and what an American opera company can be.”

First released in the U.S. on Oct. 24, 1995, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness was the Smashing Pumpkins’ third record, and their first double-album. Though often described as a concept album (with Corgan himself referring to the album as “The Wall for Generation X”), the record was a departure in terms of what the band had crafted on the previous efforts, with Corgan telling Billboard in 1995 that the somewhat grandiose 28-track release was still a “song-based album.”

The efforts of the band were rewarded at the time, with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness managing to become the Smashing Pumpkins’ first release to debut atop the Billboard 200 (despite the increased price resulting from its two-CD format). The record also garnered seven nominations at the 1997 Grammys, including album of the year and best alternative music album, ultimately winning best hard rock performance for lead single, “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”

A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Dates

November 2025: 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30