(Chicago, IL) April 26, 2024: At the top of the year, two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning iconic rock band The Smashing Pumpkins hosted an open audition for an additional guitarist to join them on the road. This unprecedented move practically broke the internet, igniting a flurry of media activity and audience anticipation. Following a simple social media post, 10,000-plus applicants submitted applications for consideration to join the band on tour. Frontman Billy Corgan reviewed the submissions and whittled down the pool of entrants who proceeded to audition in-person for the touring guitarist spot in-person last month in Los Angeles.
Now, The Smashing Pumpkins officially welcome highly-skilled veteran instrumentalist Kiki Wong as their additional touring guitarist. Kiki joins the band’s tour lineup along with mainstays Jack Bates (bass) and Katie Cole (guitar, keys, vocals).“Reviewing the work of these incredible musicians was a herculean, albeit worthy effort,” said Corgan. “First off, I really want to thank everyone who submitted materials for consideration. It wasn’t an easy decision with how much great guitar playing we were lucky enough to hear and see over the past few months. I was a fan of Kiki’s before she submitted her name to be considered – and it’s great that someone of her acumen will be part of our touring family. I can’t wait to hit the road with Kiki as part of our mad circus. It’s definitely an exciting moment for The Smashing Pumpkins to be this busy with touring in 2024. We’ll see you all this summer!
Kiki Wong hails from Los Angeles, California. Moreover, she has been a musician almost all her life and has performed with Taylor Swift, Usher, Bret Michaels, and more along with notable rock bands including Nylon Pink, Hellfire Heart, and currently, Vigil of War A lifelong fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, the stars have most definitely aligned for Kiki.
“It’s been an absolute wild ride, but I am beyond honored and humbled to be chosen to perform alongside some of rock’s greatest and most influential musicians of all time,” said Wong. “I never thought little ole 15-year-old me playing metal guitar in my bedroom would amount to this moment. It goes to show hard work and perseverance truly pays off if you’re willing to push through the tough stuff, so never lose hope out there. I am so grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to share the stage with The legendary Smashing Pumpkins!”
In addition to a combination of arena and headliner festival dates in Europe and North American stadium performances with Green Day, as part of The Saviors Tour, the band recently added additional solo arena bookings that span July through September. This new run of dates kicks off on July 31 in Muskoka, Ontario at Kee to Bala, rolls through markets such as Kansas City, Cedar Rapids, St. Louis, and concludes on September 27 in Las Vegas, NV at Fountainbleu. Plus, they will close out Osheaga Festival as one of the headlining acts in Montreal, QC on August 3. Tickets are on sale at https://smashingpumpkins.com/tour/.
Check out the band’s full confirmed tour itinerary below. Don’t miss The Smashing Pumpkins on tour!
The Smashing Pumpkins continue firing on all cylinders live. During 2023, they headlined and curated their very own The World Is A Vampire Tour joined by Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons, while 2022 saw them canvas North America on the Spirits On Fire Tour alongside Jane’s Addiction. A spectacle of eye-catching stage production and a setlist sequenced like a film with moments of heavy guitar catharsis and transcendent melodic singalongs, their shows have consistently incited widespread critical applause. NME professed, “it’s indisputable that the band are responsible for many of the ’90s’ best rock songs, and this is as good as you’re going to hear them.” Meanwhile, The Patriot Ledger proclaimed, “[The] Smashing Pumpkins proved they are still one of America’s most interesting – sometimes befuddling, but never boring – musical groups.” Miami New Times attested, “the band took the audience back in time to when alternative music was the mainstream, and the idea of browsing on your phone during a fantastic concert was bad sci-fi satire.”
Last year, The Smashing Pumpkins completed the three-act trilogy ATUM, releasing the 33-track project in its entirety. Among many highlights, it boasted “Beguiled,” which catapulted to #6 at Active Rock and #12 at Alternative Radio Charts. “Spellbinding” emerged as the #1 most-added at Alternative Rock. Plus. Rolling Stone applauded, “ATUM is clearly meant to be the kind of record that requires your full attention, and Act Three makes for a nicely trippy conclusion to the whole project, as well as an intriguing listening experience in and of itself.” In a “4-out-of-5 star” review, NME raved, “This sci-fi-inspired epic is ambitious and complex.”
2024 EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:
^ w/ Weezer
^^ w/ Interpol
*TBA
** w/ Tom Morello
6/7 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena^
6/8 – London, UK – The O2^
6/10 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena^
6/12 – Glasgow, Scotland – Hydro^
6/13 – Manchester, UK – Co-Op Live^
6/14 – Cardiff, UK – Cardiff Castle^
6/16 – Paris, France – Accor Arena**
6/19 – Moenschenglabach, Germany – Sparkassenpark (outdoor)^^
6/21 – Hannover, Germany – ZAG Arena^^
6/22 – Berlin, Germany – Wuhlheide^^
6/24 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle^^
6/26 – Zagreb, Croatia – Inmusic Festival
6/28 – Luxembourg – Luxexpo^^
6/29 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – Ahoy^^
6/30 – Antwerp, Belgium – Live is Live
7/2 – Gilwice, Poland – PreZero Arena Gilwice^^
7/4 – Prague, Czech Republic – 02 Universum*
7/6 – Lucca, Italy – Lucca Festival**
7/10 – Madrid, Spain – Mad Cool
7/11 – Lisbon, Portugal – Nos Alive
7/13 – Barcelona, Spain – Cruilla Festival
7/16 – Athens, Greece – OAKA Indoor Arena**
2024 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES:
*The Saviors Tour with Green Day
Newly announced dates in BOLD
7/29 – Washington, DC – Nationals Park*
7/31 – Muskoka, ON – Kee to Bala
8/1 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre*
8/3 – Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
8/4 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Bank Amphitheatre
8/5 – New York, NY – Citi Field*
8/7 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park*
8/9 – Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park*
8/10 – Hershey, PA – HersheyPark Stadium*
8/13 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field*
8/14 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre
8/16 – Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fair
8/17 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field*
8/20 – Des Moines, IA – Vibrant Music Hall
8/21 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/22 – Cincinnati, OH – Great American Ballpark*
8/24 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Field*
8/27 – Simpsonville, SC – CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park
8/28 – Atlanta, GA – Truist Park*
8/30 – Nashville, TN – Geodis Park*
9/1 – Pittsburgh, PA – PNC Park*
9/4 – Detroit, MI – Comerica Park*
9/7 – Denver, CO – Coors Field*
9/10 – Southaven, MS – BankPlus Amphitheatre at Snowden Grove
9/11 – Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field*
9/14 – Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium*
918 – Phoenix, AZ – Chase Field*
9/20 – San Francisco, CA – Oracle Park*
9/21 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort
9/23 – Seattle, WA – T-Mobile Park*
9/24 – Airway Heights, WA – BECU Live at Northern Quest
9/25 – Portland, OR – Providence Park*
9/27 – Las Vegas, NV – BleauLive Theater inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas at Fontainebleau
9/28 – San Diego, CA – Petco Park*
About The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are one of the most iconic, iconoclastic, and influential bands of all time, shaping alternative music and culture. Since forming in Chicago during 1988, the group have sold over 30 million albums worldwide and garnered two GRAMMY® Awards, two MTV VMAs, and an American Music Award. Their catalog includes seminal offerings such as the platinum Gish [1991], the quadruple-platinum Siamese Dream [1993], the diamond-certified Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness [1995], the platinum Adore [1998], and the gold Machina/The Machines of God [2000]. Rolling Stone cited both Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness among its “500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” It would also be impossible to envision alternative music and culture without their signature iconography such as the idyllic album artwork for Siamese Dream, the black Zero shirt, the laissez faire bliss of the “1979” music video, the gothic metamorphosis of “Ava Adore,” or the multi-dimensional live shows that sell out worldwide to this day. 2018 saw The Smashing Pumpkins unveil the SHINY AND OH SO BRIGHT, VOL. 1 / LP: NO PAST. NO FUTURE. NO SUN. and launch the immensely successful Shiny and Oh So Bright Tour, which packed arenas. Maintaining this momentum, the band released their eleventh full-length double album CYR [2020], representing yet another evolution, and more recently, ATUM [2023], the sequel to 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/Machine of God. As prolific as ever, The Smashing Pumpkins are currently working on new music. More details to come.
Follow The Smashing Pumpkins