Billy Corgan is intrigued by the potential of having a Smashing Pumpkins residency at Las Vegas’ Sphere—but he’s not totally sold on the idea.
The “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” band’s frontman has “mad respect” for the performers who have pulled off residencies at the 20,000-person capacity venue, including bands like the Eagles, No Doubt and U2, but told Consequence in a recent interview that he’s not sure Smashing Pumpkins is “big enough” to take on the Sphere.
“I’m really impressed by anybody who can play the Sphere because it’s a heavy lift. It’s a production thing, and you really have to draw a lot of people,” said Corgan, 59, in the Friday, July 10, interview.
“So number one, I’m not sure sure we’re big enough to draw enough people over time to do it,” he continued. “But if somebody came and said, ‘Yeah, we believe you can do it,’ I think the Pumpkins could put on a show that nobody else would put on, because of the theatrical nature of the records and the presentation.”
The Grammy winner added, “And with that level of production, it would be like a goth winter in there, and I think we’re probably the only band that could pull that off at that level.”
Corgan made sure to clarify that Smashing Pumpkins has not been approached by the Sphere team about a residency, reiterating that bands need a “huge fan base” willing to follow them to Las Vegas for a successful run.
The rocker does hope that having more Sphere venues open up around the world, as first announced for Abu Dhabi back in 2024, would “loosen up” the artist restrictions as time goes on.
“Right now, you need bands that are big enough to draw multiple, multiple dates to make that whole thing work,” said Corgan. “I’m telling you, mad respect to anybody who’s pulled it off, including Phish.”
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