The Smashing Pumpkins are preparing to revisit one of the defining albums of the 1990s in a massive way. The band has officially announced “The Rats In A Cage Tour,” a North American run celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic 1995 double album Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness.
According to the announcement, the tour will feature a full performance of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness every night, giving fans a chance to experience the ambitious record in its entirety three decades after its original release. The concerts will also include a second set filled with material spanning nearly 40 years of the band’s catalog, described in promotional material as “hits and dark treasures.”
The 27-date trek begins September 30 in Columbus, Ohio, before moving through major cities across North America including Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Seattle, Las Vegas, Denver, Montreal, and Toronto. The tour is currently scheduled to conclude November 12 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.
The announcement arrives during a period of renewed attention around Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness, which remains one of the most commercially successful and culturally important albums in alternative rock history. Originally released in October 1995, the sprawling 28-track record produced classic singles such as “1979,” “Tonight, Tonight,” “Bullet With Butterfly Wings,” “Zero,” and “Thirty-Three.” The album eventually earned diamond certification in the United States after selling more than 10 million copies.
For many fans, the album represented the creative peak of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS, combining orchestral ambition, crushing guitars, dreamlike melodies, and deeply emotional songwriting into a release that defined an entire era of alternative music. Billy Corgan’s shaved-head “Zero” image from that era became one of the most recognizable looks in rock culture during the mid-1990s.
The anniversary celebrations have extended beyond a traditional rock tour. Earlier this year, Billy Corgan also announced “A Night Of Mellon Collie And Infinite Sadness,” an orchestral and operatic reinterpretation of the album that previously premiered during a sold-out run at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The production blends rock music with orchestra, opera, and theatrical staging, giving songs like “Tonight, Tonight” and “1979” an entirely different emotional atmosphere.
Corgan described that orchestral adaptation as one of the most fulfilling creative experiences of his life, saying the overwhelming audience response convinced him the project deserved to continue beyond Chicago.
The newly announced tour also continues a busy modern era for THE SMASHING PUMPKINS. In recent years, the band has revisited its past through expansive reissues and ambitious conceptual projects, including ATUM and the long-awaited Machina archival releases.
Fans online immediately reacted with excitement after the tour reveal, with many already speculating about marathon setlists and lengthy performances given the size of Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. Some commenters on Reddit joked that the concerts would have to be “long-ass concerts” considering the scale of the material being promised.
Tickets for “The Rats In A Cage Tour” are expected to go on sale this week. In addition to the anniversary tour, the band also has festival appearances scheduled for Lollapalooza and Darker Waves later this year.
