The Smashing Pumpkins are set to return to North American stages this fall with The Rats In A Cage Tour, a large-scale live production built around the 30th anniversary of their landmark 1995 double album “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.” Launching on September 30 in Columbus, Ohio, and continuing through mid-November, the tour will offer a two-part performance structure that reflects both the band’s history and its ongoing evolution.

The first half of each evening will be dedicated entirely to “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” presented in what the band describes as a highly theatrical format. Long regarded as one of the defining alternative rock albums of the 1990s, the record remains central to the group’s identity, and this live reinterpretation marks the most ambitious attempt yet to revisit it in full concert form.

The second half of the performance will broaden the scope considerably, drawing material from nearly four decades of the band’s catalog, from early releases like “Gish” to more recent work, including 2024’s “Aghori Mhori Mei.”

For frontman Billy Corgan, the concept has been in discussion for years. The idea of staging a performance centered around “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” has reportedly lingered within the band’s orbit for over a decade, making this anniversary run something of a long-delayed realization.

The announcement follows a period of theatrical teasing that culminated in a special Los Angeles event titled Requiem For ZERO, where invited guests witnessed a symbolic farewell to ZERO, the silver-clad alter ego associated with Corgan during the original “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” era. The gesture reinforced the tour’s interest not simply in nostalgia, but in myth-making, revisiting one of the band’s most iconic chapters through performance, symbolism, and reinvention.

Before the tour begins, the band will make another significant return by headlining Lollapalooza in Chicago on July 31, marking their first appearance at the festival in more than three decades.

The tour arrives during an especially active period for the band. “Aghori Mhori Mei,” released in August 2024, marked a new chapter following the departure of longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder. After an open audition process that reportedly attracted more than 10,000 applicants, guitarist Kiki Wong joined the touring lineup, bringing fresh energy to the live configuration.

Corgan has also continued to revisit the band’s legacy through parallel projects. In 2025, he launched Billy Corgan and The Machines of God for the A Return To Zero tour, revisiting material from “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” “Machina / The Machines of God,” “Machina II / The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music,” and “Aghori Mhori Mei.” He also collaborated with Lyric Opera of Chicago for A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, an orchestral reinterpretation of the album that expanded its emotional scope through operatic performance.

Outside of music, Corgan remains active through his podcast The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, where long-form conversations with artists and cultural figures continue to reveal his broader creative interests.

Taken together, The Rats In A Cage Tour feels less like a standard anniversary tour and more like an ambitious reframing of The Smashing Pumpkins’ legacy, one that acknowledges the emotional weight of “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” while positioning the band as an ongoing creative force rather than a nostalgia act.

See the full list of The Rats In A Cage Tour dates below:

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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Cover photo: (c) Jason Renaud