The Smashing Pumpkins’ homecoming Lollapalooza set is ‘very meaningful,’ says Billy Corgan

It took a couple decades, but The Smashing Pumpkins are finally headlining Lollapalooza in their hometown of Chicago.

While the “1979” outfit previously performed at Lolla back in 1994 when it was a touring festival, they have never played it since it permanently moved to Chicago in 2005. Not only that, but the Pumpkins have never performed at the festival’s site, Grant Park, either.

“We were banned by the mayor of Chicago at the time, Richie Daley, who basically banned us from playing the park, ever,” frontman Billy Corgan tells ABC Audio.

That will finally change when the Pumpkins take the stage at Grant Park during Lolla 2026 as a Friday night headliner.  

“For us, it’s very meaningful,” Corgan says of the set. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs and it’s gonna be really a beautiful night in our incredible, crazy, up-and-down history.” 

Lollapalooza 2026 takes place Thursday through Sunday. You can watch the Pumpkins’ set and many others streaming live via Hulu and Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of Hulu and ABC News.