The Smashing Pumpkins announce orchestral Chicago residency for ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ 30th anniversary

11 March, 2025

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a run of huge hometown orchestral shows to mark the 30th anniversary of ‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’.

The band will take over the Lyric Opera of Chicago for seven nights in November for ‘A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness’, which will see Billy Corgan and co joined by the venue’s acclaimed house orchestra and chorus for “a completely new, sonic and visual experience”.

The show will be made up of arrangements of the album’s tracks along with orchestral accompaniment, overseen by James Lowe. The shows will run from November 21 to November 30 and tickets go on sale on April 11 – you can get yours here.

Corgan has said: “Opera and rock both tell stories of heightened emotions, and I am excited for both fans of my music and traditional opera fans to hear some truly inspired work; for the balance here is to honor both traditions in a magisterial way.”

‘Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness’ was the band’s third album, released in October 1995. A two-hour double album, it is the band’s only record to top the US album charts and has sold over 10million copies in the band’s home country alone.

It was seen as representing a significant development in the band’s sound, as they embraced a broader sonic palette that included traces of industrial and baroque music. Its best-known songs include ‘1979’, ‘Bullet With Butterfly Wings’ and ‘Tonight, Tonight’.

The dates will come after the Pumpkins’ huge show at Gunnersbury Park in West London in August, where they will be joined by Skunk Anansie and White Lies. They will also play three further UK shows in the following days, in Halifax, Scarborough and Colchester. Find any remaining tickets here.

Corgan will also be on the stacked bill at Black Sabbath’s final show in Birmingham’s Villa Park in July, which will also include Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Lamb Of God, Mastodon, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, recent Grammy-winners Gojira and more.

Elsewhere, Corgan recently said he thinks the group are “one of the most misunderstood bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll”, and has complained that he does not “get the credit” for creating a musical landscape that allowed for the emergence of bands like Muse.

Friends of Corgan, meanwhile, are “convinced” that he and Bill Burr are half-brothers and are urging him to get a DNA test.

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