ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The founder and frontman of a band that helped popularize the alt rock genre and sold nine gold and platinum albums is coming to Archer Music Hall in arguably its biggest show so far.
Billy Corgan, who led The Smashing Pumpkin to chart-topping hits such as "1979," will bring his new band, Billy Corgan and The Machines of God, to The Archer on June 17.
Tickets, the prices of which were not immediately released, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at The Archer website and at the box at 939 Hamilton St., Allentown.Live Nation release
The tour will mark the 30th anniversary of The Smashing Pumpkins' 10-times-platinum 1995 album "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" and the 25th anniversary of its gold 2000 double album "Machina/The Machines of God & Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music."
Tickets, the prices of which were not immediately released, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at The Archer website and at the box at 939 Hamilton St., Allentown.
The A Return to Zero Tour "will reintroduce a four-piece, two set guitar lineup in which music from the seminal Pumpkins albums were created," according to a release.
"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), the release says.
Revisiting successes
The tour comes as The Smashing Pumpkins announced the re-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.
Additionally, the band will release a 16-song reissue of the original "Machina/The Machines of God" vinyl on Aug. 22.
The Smashing Pumpkins released its debut album, "Gish," in 1991 and it got platinum sales.
But the group found much broader acclaim with its 1993 sophomore disc, "Siamese Dream," which sold four times platinum and contained the alternative hits "Cherub Rock," "Today" and "Disarm."
The group had its biggest success with
"Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness," which topped the overall albums chart and produced three gold hits: "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," "Zero" and "1979."
The group won Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997 for "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" and 1998 for "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" from the "Batman & Robin" movie soundtrack and the 1997 American Music Awards' Best Alternative Artist.
The group continued its success with the 1998 album "Adore" and "Machina/The Machines of God" in 2000s, which went gold.
Its most recent disc was "Aghori Mhori Mei," released in August.
In all, it has had more than 20 songs hit the Top 25 on the Alternative chart.
Biggest Archer show yet?
Archer Music Hall now has announced more than 40 concerts since it opened with a concert by gold-selling Brazilian metal band Cavalera on March 8.
Seminal punk band Dead Kennedys played the venue Sunday, and Jojo, who the youngest solo artist to ever top Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 chart with her 2004 debut single "Leave (Get Out)."
But Corgan is by far the most commercially successful act scheduled for the new venue.
In addition to his success with The Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan also has released four solo albums, most recently 2019's "Cotillions."
