The Smashing Pumpkins - Rats In A Cage 2026 tour celebrates Mellon Collie
Published on 08/22/2026 at 22:01 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
The Smashing Pumpkins are turning 2026 into a full-scale celebration of their landmark album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. According to multiple tour announcements from venue and ticketing partners, the band will spend the fall on a 27-date North American arena run branded The Rats In A Cage Tour.
How the 2026 Rats In A Cage Tour is mapped out
The core of the schedule is clear: the tour kicks off on September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio and wraps on November 12, 2026 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, with stops in major US and Canadian markets along the way, as laid out by Loudwire and Ticketmaster-linked route overviews.
Between those bookend dates, the band will hit Boston’s TD Garden, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena, the TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Centre Bell in Montreal, and the Kohl Center in Madison, among other arenas, according to a detailed date list published by Loudwire and echoed by Vice’s ticket guide.
Mellon Collie anniversary and set structure
Climate Pledge Arena’s show announcement for November 6, 2026 in Seattle explains that each night of The Rats In A Cage Tour is split into two distinct sets: one focused squarely on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, which recently reached its 30th anniversary, and a second built as a career-spanning journey through nearly four decades of hits, deep cuts and fan favorites.
Ticketmaster’s official blog preview of the tour underlines that summer festival appearances like the July 31 Lollapalooza headliner in Chicago act as a prelude to the fall arena run, effectively turning 2026 into a broad live chapter for the Chicago-rooted alternative rock band.
Tour, charts and catalog overview
Fans who want to follow every development around The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2026 tour and classic albums can find further coverage and background pieces in the site’s archive and on the band’s official pages.
What the tour means within their body of work
The Rats In A Cage concept is deliberately tied to the band’s 1995 double album, which helped define 1990s alternative rock and blended aggressive guitar work with orchestral passages, electronic textures and introspective lyrics, cementing The Smashing Pumpkins as a bridge between grunge, art rock and arena-scale ambition.
In the years since, frontman Billy Corgan has steered the group through albums like Machina/The Machines of God, Zeitgeist, Cyr and the multi-act rock opera Atum, but the decision to dedicate an entire tour set to Mellon Collie underscores how central that record remains to their identity and to the expectations of concert audiences.
Where the band stands and what’s next
As of August 22, 2026, the next confirmed live date on the official tour route is September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, with further North American stops running through November 12, 2026 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood.
The Smashing Pumpkins at a glance
- Act: The Smashing Pumpkins
- Genre: Alternative rock, rock
- Origin: Chicago, United States
- Active since: 1988
- Lineup: Billy Corgan (vocals, guitar), James Iha (guitar), Jimmy Chamberlin (drums), Jeff Schroeder (guitar), touring and studio contributors on bass and keyboards across eras
- Label: Multiple over time, including Virgin Records, Martha’s Music and current partnerships for recent releases
- Key works: Gish (1991), Siamese Dream (1993), Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), Machina/The Machines of God (2000)
- Current album/single: Atum, released in three acts between November 2022 and May 2023
- Charts / certifications: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified Diamond in the United States, while more recent projects like Atum entered national album charts in markets including Germany according to the Official German Charts listings.
- Next live date: September 30, 2026, Columbus, Schottenstein Center
Frequently asked questions about The Smashing Pumpkins
When does The Rats In A Cage Tour start for The Smashing Pumpkins?
The Rats In A Cage Tour begins on September 30, 2026 at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, launching a fall arena run that continues through November 12, 2026 in Inglewood.
How is the 2026 tour structured around Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness?
Venue announcements describe two sets each night, with one focused on songs from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and another built as a broader career-spanning set, highlighting material from across nearly four decades.
Which major cities are included on The Smashing Pumpkins’ 2026 tour route?
The announced schedule includes Columbus, Boston, Baltimore, New York, Pittsburgh, Hamilton, Montreal, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland, Vancouver, Seattle, San Jose, Phoenix and Los Angeles among its 27 North American dates.
This article was created with AI assistance and editorially reviewed. Sources are linked in the text. Dates, chart positions and certifications may change at short notice; correction notes are welcome via the editorial contact on our imprint/contact page.
