The Smashing Pumpkins will return to the road this fall with The Rats In A Cage Tour, a North American run built around the 30th anniversary of the band’s 1995 double-album opus Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. The trek opens September 30 in Columbus, Ohio, and runs through mid-November, with each show promising two distinct sets: one devoted to Mellon Collie and another spanning nearly four decades of Pumpkins material, from fan favorites to deeper cuts.
The band says the Mellon Collie portion of the night will be presented in a “highly theatrical setting,” while the second set will pull from the rest of the catalog, including songs from Gish through the band’s most recent album, 2024’s Aghori Mhori Mei. Corgan called the idea of a Mellon Collie-themed show something the band has discussed “for over a decade.”
Tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday, May 21, at 10 a.m. local time, following Citi and Verizon presales beginning Tuesday, May 19, and a VIZ CLUB fan-club presale on Wednesday, May 20. VIP packages will include a pre-show acoustic performance and Q&A with the band, lounge access, memorabilia, exclusive merch, and priority merchandise shopping.
The announcement follows several days of teasing that culminated in a “Requiem For ZERO” event at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles, where 300 guests witnessed a symbolic funeral for ZERO, the silver-pants-and-star-shirt avatar Corgan first inhabited during the original Mellon Collie era. Before the tour begins, the Pumpkins will headline Lollapalooza in their hometown of Chicago on July 31, marking their first return to the festival in more than 30 years.
The new tour also arrives after an unusually active period for Corgan and company. The Smashing Pumpkins released Aghori Mhori Mei on Aug. 2, 2024, through Martha’s Music and Thirty Tigers, their first album after longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder’s departure. Following an open audition that drew more than 10,000 applicants, the band brought in guitarist Kiki Wong for its touring lineup.
In 2025, Corgan also launched Billy Corgan and The Machines of God for the “A Return To Zero” tour, revisiting material from Mellon Collie, Machina/The Machines of God, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, and Aghori Mhori Mei. That same anniversary cycle included A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, Corgan’s collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago, which reimagined the album with orchestra, chorus, and operatic soloists.
Corgan has also been busy behind the mic on his podcast, The Magnificent Others, with Billy Corgan, which recently featured a 97-minute conversation with David J of Bauhaus and Love and Rockets. In the May 13 episode, David J discussed growing up in working-class England, discovering reggae and punk, the accidental birth of “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” and Bauhaus’ mission to dismantle rock conventions.
See the full list of The Rats In A Cage Tour dates below.
The Smashing Pumpkins — The Rats In A Cage Tour:
Sept. 30 — Columbus, OH — Schottenstein Center
Oct. 2 — Boston, MA — TD Garden
Oct. 3 — Baltimore, MD — CFG Bank Arena
Oct. 4 — Brooklyn, NY — Barclays Center
Oct. 6 — Pittsburgh, PA — PPG Paints Arena
Oct. 7 — Hamilton, ON — TD Coliseum
Oct. 9 — Montreal, QC — Bell Centre
Oct. 11 — Madison, WI — Kohl Center
Oct. 13 — St. Paul, MN — Grand Casino Arena
Oct. 14 — Chicago, IL — United Center
Oct. 16 — Charlotte, NC — Spectrum Center
Oct. 17 — Jacksonville, FL — VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Oct. 18 — Tampa, FL — Benchmark International Arena
Oct. 20 — Indianapolis, IN — Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Oct. 22 — Nashville, TN — The Truth
Oct. 24 — Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom Center
Oct. 25 — Austin, TX — Moody Center
Oct. 27 — Denver, CO — Ball Arena
Oct. 29 — Salt Lake City, UT — Delta Center
Oct. 30 — Las Vegas, NV — MGM Grand Garden Arena
Nov. 1 — Portland, OR — Moda Center
Nov. 3 — Calgary, AB — Scotiabank Saddledome
Nov. 5 — Vancouver, BC — Rogers Arena
Nov. 6 — Seattle, WA — Climate Pledge Arena
Nov. 8 — San Jose, CA — SAP Center
Nov. 11 — Phoenix, AZ — Mortgage Matchup Center
Nov. 12 — Los Angeles, CA — Kia Forum
Nov. 14 — Huntington Beach, CA — Darker Waves Festival
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