The Smashing Pumpkins, Rats In A Cage 2026 tour and Mellon Collie streaming surge
Published on 08/24/2026 at 16:04 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Smashing Pumpkins enter late 2026 with a rare combination of fresh live plans and enduring catalog power. According to Ticketmaster and Live Nation listings for their Rats In A Cage Tour, the band will play a 27-date North American arena run from September 30 to November 12, 2026, framed around the 30th anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness.
What the charts and streams show
For German listeners, The Smashing Pumpkins’ album catalog continues to show up in the Official German Charts. The band’s multi-act rock opera Atum entered the Offizielle Deutsche Charts in May 2023 and peaked at No. 18, while the follow-up album Aghori Mhori Mei reached the German album chart in late November 2024 and peaked at No. 51, indicating stable demand beyond the classic ’90s releases.
Across streaming platforms, the global footprint of their catalog is substantial. Data from Kworb’s Spotify tracking shows that by August 20, 2026 the band’s songs had accumulated more than 4.9 billion total streams, with daily plays exceeding 2.3 million. On that same snapshot, 1979 alone stands at more than 946 million streams, while Bullet With Butterfly Wings is above 607 million, Today above 413 million and Disarm above 325 million, underlining the dominance of the mid-’90s material in their digital profile.
Mellon Collie at 30 and catalog activity
The anniversary of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is a central thread in the band’s current release activity. In October 2025, the group announced a 30th anniversary reissue of Mellon Collie, including deluxe CD editions and a newly curated live archive from the original Infinite Sadness Tour, with track lists and liner notes detailed in a label statement and on the band’s official channels.
Alongside Mellon Collie, the band has also been revisiting other turn-of-the-millennium works. August 22, 2025 brought a newly remixed and remastered 25th anniversary edition of Machina/The Machines of God, released as both an individual vinyl edition and part of an 80?song box set combining Machina and Machina II. This archival project ties directly into their ongoing narrative of giving previously hard?to?find material a wider digital presence.
Tour, charts and work overview for The Smashing Pumpkins
Fans who want to follow The Smashing Pumpkins across tours, catalog reissues and streaming milestones can find further news and background coverage in our archive and on the band’s official channels.
Where the band goes live in fall 2026
The focal point of late 2026 for the band is The Smashing Pumpkins: The Rats In A Cage Tour, a North American arena run that begins after a handful of summer festival and stadium appearances. Ticketmaster and Live Nation listings show the tour kicking off on September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio and running through November 12, 2026 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, with dates in both the United States and Canada.
A Ticketmaster?linked schedule compiled by Ticketmaster’s concert blog outlines major stops including Boston’s TD Garden on October 2, Baltimore’s CFG Bank Arena on October 3, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on October 4, Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on October 6 and Chicago’s United Center on October 14. The route then heads south and west with evenings at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center, Jacksonville’s VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena, Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse and Austin’s Moody Center, before crossing the Rockies toward Ball Arena in Denver, the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Setlist expectations and tour concept
Ticketmaster’s setlist preview emphasizes that the Rats In A Cage Tour is designed around two distinct sets each night. One set celebrates the full arc of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, marking roughly thirty years since the album’s release, while the second functions as a career?spanning overview. Fans can expect signature songs like 1979, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Tonight, Tonight, Zero and Ava Adore alongside deeper cuts drawn from Siamese Dream, Adore, Machina and more recent works.
US media coverage of the tour announcement, including reporting by USA Today and Live Nation’s own event page, highlights the tour’s commemorative character as a key selling point. In practice, that positions the shows at the intersection of nostalgia and current momentum: the band uses a historically important album as an anchor but underscores that their live sets still incorporate newer material from albums such as Aghori Mhori Mei and Zodeon At Crystal Hall, as well as recent singles like Chrome Jets.
How the work sounds and where it fits
Musically, The Smashing Pumpkins continue to operate in a broad alternative rock space that draws on heavy guitars, dynamic loud?quiet arrangements and a characteristic blend of melancholic melodies with dense production. The canonical mid?’90s albums Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness established that foundation, with producer Butch Vig playing a central role on Siamese Dream.
Later works such as Machina/The Machines of God, Oceania and the multi?act Atum expanded the palette with more electronic textures and conceptual structures, while the 2024 album Aghori Mhori Mei has been described in label and management material as a return to more guitar?driven songwriting reminiscent of the band’s early 1990s sound. The 2026 digital release of Zodeon At Crystal Hall on streaming platforms, originally a limited physical release through Billy Corgan’s Madame Zuzu’s store, further situates newer songs like Excelsior alongside archival material from the Atum sessions.
Current status and next official live date
With the Rats In A Cage Tour scheduled in North America and no currently announced German or wider European dates for the same period, The Smashing Pumpkins remain an active touring band whose next confirmed live date after August 24, 2026 is September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
The Smashing Pumpkins at a glance
- Act: The Smashing Pumpkins
- Genre: Alternative rock / alternative metal
- Origin: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Active since: 1988
- Lineup: Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar), James Iha (guitar), Jimmy Chamberlin (drums), Jeff Schroeder (guitar, live collaborator on many tours)
- Label: UMe / Martha’s Music (recent catalog and reissues), various majors historically
- Key works: Siamese Dream (1993), Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), Adore (1998), Machina/The Machines of God (2000)
- Current album/single: Zodeon At Crystal Hall, released digitally May 15, 2026; single Zombie (with YUNGBLUD) from 2026
- Charts / certifications: Atum peaked at No. 18 on the Official German Album Charts in May 2023; Aghori Mhori Mei entered the German album chart in November 2024 and peaked at No. 51; globally, 1979 is approaching one billion streams on Spotify while Bullet With Butterfly Wings has surpassed 600 million streams.
- Next live date: September 30, 2026, Columbus, Ohio, Schottenstein Center (Rats In A Cage Tour)
Frequently asked questions about The Smashing Pumpkins
When does The Smashing Pumpkins’ Rats In A Cage Tour start?
The Rats In A Cage Tour begins on September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, according to Ticketmaster and Live Nation tour schedules.
Which Smashing Pumpkins albums have charted in Germany?
In recent years, the multi?act album Atum reached the Official German Album Charts and peaked at No. 18 in May 2023, while Aghori Mhori Mei entered the same chart in November 2024 and peaked at No. 51.
How strong are The Smashing Pumpkins on streaming platforms today?
Spotify tracking compiled by chart analytics services shows the band’s catalog surpassing 4.9 billion total streams as of August 20, 2026, with daily streams above 2.3 million, driven mainly by songs such as 1979, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Today and Disarm.
This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed. Sources are linked in the text. Dates, chart positions and certifications can change at short notice; correction notes can be sent via the editorial contact on our imprint/contact page.
