In 1995, Smashing Pumpkins released the momentous, ambitious double album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. Five years after that, they came out with the similarly sweeping Machina/The Machines Of God, their final album before their initial breakup. This year, Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the 25th birthday of Machina with a few new things: an opera, a box set, and a solo tour.
Billy Corgan partnered with Chicago's Lyric Opera for a new seven-performance series dedicated to Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, which will come to that venue November 21-30. Corgan did the arrangements and orchestrations with James Lowe, and he'll perform with "special guest artists," as well as the Lyric's chorus and orchestra. Check here for the info on that.
Corgan has also remixed and remastered Machina and its companion-piece album Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music. The box set of those two albums will include demos, outtakes, and live performances -- 80 tracks in all -- and it'll be available exclusively at Madame Zuzu's, Corgan's tea shop in Highland Park, Illinois. He's also reissuing the original Machina, and that'll be out on vinyl August 22.
This summer, Corgan will tour relatively small venues with his new band Billy Corgan And The Machines Of God. The four-piece lineup will include the newly recruited Smashing Pumpkins touring guitarist Kiki Wong, as well as drummer Jake Hayden and bassist Kid Tigrrr. They'll play songs from Mellon Collie, Machina, and the 2024 Smashing Pumpkins album Aghori Mhori Mei. Below, check out Corgan's introductory video and his tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
6/07 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
6/09 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
6/11 - Muskoka, ON @ Kee to Bala
6/12 - Toronto, ON @ HISTORY
6/13 - Montreal QC @ Beanfield Theatre
6/15 - New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
6/16 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
6/17 - Allentown, PA @ Archer Music Hall
6/19 - Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall
6/20 - Joliet, IL @ Taste of Joliet
6/21 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Intersection
6/23 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre
6/25 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues Cleveland
6/26 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
6/27 - Milwaukee, WI @ Summerfest
6/29 - Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater
