Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Billy Corgan Announces New Solo Project

Billy Corgan Announces New Solo Project

Billy Corgan and The Machines of God announce 'A Return to Zero Tour' kicking off on June 7th, featuring classic tracks and deep cuts from iconic albums. Tickets available for presale on April 1st. Don't miss this unforgettable experience! Tour dates include Baltimore, Boston, New York, and more.


Today, Billy Corgan, the frontman of the iconic rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, has announced a new solo project titled ā€˜Billy Corgan and The Machines of God’ who will commemorate the anniversaries of the legendary albums with sets drawn from Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness and the double album Machina/The Machines of God & Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music as well as the 2024 release, Aghori Mhori Mei with a national US tour set to kick off this summer. The tour, titled A Return To Zero, will launch on June 7th and feature the four piece group also embarking on previously-confirmed festival shows.

The A Return to Zero Tour will reintroduce a four-piece, two set guitar lineup in which music from these seminal Pumpkins albums were created. The shows will feature classic tracks and deep cuts from the highly acclaimed records. In addition to Corgan, The Machines of God will feature recently recruited Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong, drummer Jake Hayden and bassist Kid Tigrrr (Jenna Fournier).

Tickets for the upcoming tour will be available for artist presale beginning Tuesday, April 1st at 10:00AM local time through Thursday, April 3rd at 10:00PM local time. Following the presale, the general onsale will begin Friday, April 4th at 10:00AM local time. Please see tour dates below and purchase tickets at ticketmaster.com.

Along with this touring announcement, The Smashing Pumpkins have revealed the details of the long-awaited and reconstituted release of the 2000 concept albums Machina/The Machines of God and its companion Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music which have been extensively remixed and remastered. Corgan's Madame Zuzu’s tea shop in Highland Park, IL will exclusively offer this expansive 80-song box set; featuring a 48-track ā€˜MACHINA’ plus an additional 32 bonus tracks of demos, outtakes, and live performances, marking the first time these two records will officially be united. Additionally, the rock band will release a 16-song reissue of the original Machina/TheĀ Machines of God vinyl on August 22nd, and pre-orders will begin on June 27th.

This year will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Smashing Pumpkins era-defining acclaimed album, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadnesswhich set the sound for a generation. To commemorate the album, Corgan has partnered with Chicago’s Lyric Opera to world-premiere A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, a seven series performance taking place November 21–30, 2025.

These noteworthy music announcements follow on the heels of an already exciting 2025 for Billy Corgan; earlier this year the rock legend also launched his applauded podcast series ā€œThe Magnificent Others.ā€

Beyond these accomplishments, the GRAMMYĀ® Award-winning musician, versatile producer, songwriter, poet, also serves as the President of the National Wrestling Alliance, owns Madame Zuzu’s, a beloved tea shop in Highland, IL, and remains a devout philanthropist through varying initiatives focusing on animal advocacy and NO KILL shelters.

Billy Corgan and The Machines of God - YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Tour Dates

  • June 7 - Baltimore, MD // Baltimore Soundstage
  • June 9 - Boston, MA // Paradise Rock Club
  • June 11 - Muskoka, ON // Kee to Bala
  • June 12 - Toronto, ON // HISTORY
  • June 13 - Montreal QC // Beanfield Theatre
  • June 15 - New York, NY // Irving Plaza
  • June 16 - Philadelphia, PA // Theatre of Living Arts
  • June 17 - Allentown, PA // Archer Music Hall
  • June 19 - Detroit, MI // St. Andrew’s Hall
  • June 20 - Joliet, IL // Taste of Joliet (Festival Performance)
  • June 21 - Grand Rapids, MI // Intersection
  • June 23 - Pittsburgh, PA // Roxian Theatre
  • June 25 - Cleveland, OH // House of Blues Cleveland
  • June 26 - Cincinnati, OH // Bogart’s
  • June 27 - Milwaukee, WI // Summerfest*
  • June 29 - Minneapolis, MN // Varsity Theater

See and hear Taylor’s Legacy Collection guitars played by his successor, Andy Powers.

Read MoreShow less

A rig meant to inspire! That’s Jerry Garcia with his Doug Irwin-built Tiger guitar, in front of his Twin Reverb + McIntosh + JBL amp rig.

Photo by Frank White

Three decades after the final Grateful Dead performance, Jerry Garcia’s sound continues to cast a long shadow. Guitarists Jeff Mattson of Dark Star Orchestra, Tom Hamilton of JRAD, and Bella Rayne explain how they interpret Garcia’s legacy musically and with their gear.

ā€œI met Jerry Garcia once, in 1992, at the bar at the Ritz Carlton in New York,ā€ Dark Star Orchestra guitarist Jeff Mattson tells me over the phone. Nearly sixty-seven years old, Mattson is one of the longest-running members of the Grateful Dead tribute band scene, which encompasses hundreds of groups worldwide. The guitarist is old enough to have lived through most of the arc ofthe actual Grateful Dead’s career. As a young teen, he first absorbed their music by borrowing their seminal records, American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead, brand new then, from his local library to spin on his turntable. Around that same moment, he started studying jazz guitar. Between 1973 and 1995, Mattson saw the Dead play live hundreds of times, formed the landmark jam bandZen Tricksters, and later stepped into theJerry Garcia lead guitarist role with the Dark Star Orchestra (DSO), one of the leading Dead tribute acts.

Read MoreShow less

PRS Guitars today launched five new three-pickup, 22-fret models across the S2 and SE series. The S2 Series release includes the S2 Special Semi-Hollow and S2 Studio, while the SE Series welcomes the SE Special Semi-Hollow, SE Studio, and SE Studio Standard.

Read MoreShow less

For the first time ever, two guitar greats, John 5 and Richie Kotzen will be heading out on the road this year. The tour will launch October 16 and run through November, hitting markets across the U.S.

Read MoreShow less