Smashing Pumpkins are one of the era-defining rock bands of the ’90s. Right up there with the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. The Chicago-founded group will forever be filed under “grunge,” but their signature hits are way more widescreen, stretching to the grandiose “Tonight” and the poppy “1979.” And OK, plenty of melt-your-ears grunge catharsis too, a la their 1993 classic “Cherub Rock.”

Now for the first time in Smashing Pumpkins’ 30-plus year history, the band is set to play a concert in Huntsville. The Pumpkins, still led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Billy Corgan are set to rock Orion Amphitheater on Aug. 17 as part of their “The World Is a Vampire Tour.” The tour’s title is copped from a lyric to Smashing Pumpkins’ metallic 1995 hit “Bullet with Butterfly Wings.”

In addition to Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins current lineup boasts classic-era members James Iha on guitar and Jimmy Chamberlin on drums, with guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Schroeder joining the fold around 2006. On recent tours, bassist Jack Bates and multi-instrument/backing vocalist Katie Cole have augmented the core members onstage.

On April 21, the Pumpkins will release the final installment of their 12th studio album, the triptych “Atum: A Rock Opera in Three Acts.” Parts one and two dropped in November and January. The 33-track collection has been touted as a sequel to “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness,” Smashing Pumpkins 1995 double-LP, which achieved the rare air of diamond certified, with sales of more than 10 million. Smashing Pumpkins other essential albums include their 1991 debut album “Gish” and ‘93 juggernaut “Siamese Dream.”

Fans will want to arrive at Orion Amphitheater early enough to catch the support acts. Opening the night, Rival Sons, a California-founded quartet evoking blues-rock’s glory days. Featuring singer Jay Buchanan’s mighty pipes, Rival Sons’ signature song is “Pressure and Time,” a 2011 track that channels Led Zeppelin’s “Out on the Tiles” and recently been featured in a prominent TV commercial for Chevy trucks. Rival Sons may not be a household name. But fans who love real-deal rock & roll are nuts for the band, who recorded part of their most recent album in Muscle Shoals.

Early 2000s sensation Interpol are direct support on the Pumpkins tour. The New York combo are sort of the Greta Van Fleet of Joy Division. Whereas Great Van Fleet are amazing at playing lemon-squeezing Led Zeppelin style rock, Joy Division dopplegang the hell out of influential post-punk band Joy Division. Interpol’s first two albums went gold, each selling 500,000 copies plus. Sophomore 2004 album “Antics” birthed hits like the angular “Evil,” “C’mere” and “Slow Hands.”

Smashing Pumpkins last performed in Alabama in 2022, with a show at Avondale Brewing Company. According to setlist.fm, the band’s earliest performances in the state include a 1991 set promoting their debut album at legendary Birmingham dive bar The Nick.

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