Long Live The Black Parade[a] is a concert tour by the American rock band My Chemical Romance in celebration of their third studio album, The Black Parade (2006). An all-stadium tour, it began on July 11, 2025, in Seattle, with the last scheduled date on July 11, 2026, in London. During the tour, the band plays The Black Parade in its entirety.
The tour was first announced in November 2024, after the band's performance of The Black Parade in its entirety at When We Were Young, which marked the album's first full live performance since 2007. The tour was initially announced with ten shows in North America, with an additional Los Angeles date, Mexico City dates and London dates being added later.
Background and history
My Chemical Romance released their third studio album, The Black Parade, in 2006.[2] It was supported by The Black Parade World Tour, which began on February 22, 2007,[3] where the band would play the album in its entirety[4] as the "Black Parade", an alter-ego band that the album was named after.[5] They played as the Black Parade alter-ego until October 7, 2007, when the alter-ego was killed off.[6] On October 19 and 20, 2024, My Chemical Romance headlined the When We Were Young festival, where they performed The Black Parade in its entirety for the first time since 2007.[2]
My Chemical Romance announced Long Live The Black Parade on November 12, 2024. Initially, ten shows across North America were announced, spanning across 2025,[2][7] with most of the shows taking place at Major League Baseball stadiums.[7] Most dates on the tour have a unique opening act (e.g. Evanescence, 100 gecs).[8][9] Due to high demand, the band had to schedule a second date in Los Angeles after tickets went on sale.[10]
In May 2025, the band announced a show in Mexico City on February 13, 2026, officially advertised as "The Black Parade – Alive!".[11] A second show in Mexico City taking place on February 14 was announced a few days later.[12] In August, the band announced two shows at Wembley Stadium in London for July 10 and July 11, 2026.[13]
Promotion and ticket sales
To promote the tour, My Chemical Romance released a series of teasers and trailers with cryptic meanings, sparking fan debate and speculation.[14][15] On the day before the initial announcement of the tour in November, the band posted a teaser image on their Instagram page, depicting the skyline of a white city with pieces of confetti floating around, with the letters KCR arranged in a new logo.[16] The post had the caption "If you could be anything, what would you be?".[2] Several fans speculated that the announcement was for The Paper Kingdom, the band's planned fifth studio album that was scrapped before their initial break up in 2013.[17]
When the tour was announced, the band released a trailer[18][19][20] which features a dictator walking out onto a balcony to a cheering crowd in a white-colored dystopian city.[9][20][21] The description of the trailer references the time that had passed since the last appearance of the Black Parade alter-ego, and made numerous references to a fictional dictatorship known as Draag.[9][19] The announcement trailer for the Mexico City show made similar references, while also retconning the death of the Black Parade.[11] Other teasers related to the tour that have been released includes ones simply titled "Opera" and "Good Boy".[15]
Tickets for the initial ten North American dates went on sale on November 15, 2024.[22][9] Within a few hours, all tickets to each show had sold out, with 365,000 tickets sold in total.[10] The prices of tickets sold for the concerts were noted by fans online as being exceptionally high, with some seats having starting prices of over US$700.[10][23] It was widely speculated that the band had opted into Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing feature, which scales the prices of tickets based on their demand.[10][23][24] Prices were further accelerated by bot accounts, which were used to automatically purchase tickets and resell them at artificially inflated prices.[25] Some fans criticized the band directly for their handling of ticket sales and alleged use of dynamic pricing, while others debated whether the band willingly opted into the practice, if they were forced into it by Ticketmaster, or if the practice was in use at all.[23][25]
Production
For Long Live The Black Parade shows, the band performs two different sets, with the first set featuring the band dressed up as the Black Parade alter-ego, performing The Black Parade in its entirety. Their outfits are updated versions of their original Black Parade uniforms.[26] The Black Parade set features a theatrical styled production, with the band fully placing themselves into the role of the Black Parade.[27] In addition to the band's main line-up, the tour features several additional musicians, including drummer Jarrod Alexander, keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac,[27] and violinist Kayleigh Goldsworthy (who joins the band on "Cancer" and "Mama", specifically).[28] Other characters established for the tour include the Gentleman, a ventriloquist dummy that the band seemingly met while in prison. Marianne, a guest opera singer played by Lucy Joy Altus. And The Clerk, played by Charlie Saxton.[29] In-between the two sets, cellist Clarice Jensen plays an instrumental titled "From A to B".[30] For the B-stage, the band plays an assortment of songs from the rest of their discography.[31]
"Over Fields" redirects here. For other uses, see Overfield.
The production for Long Live The Black Parade is centered around the fictional country of Draag. The country is a dictatorship, which is ruled by who is only referred to as the "Grand Immortal Dictator".[32] Throughout the tour, several ministries of the country have either been referenced or made appearances, including the "Ministry of Menial Tasks", the "Ministry of Complimentary Reconditioning", and the "Ministry of Operatic Relations". The second of which has only been referenced in print set lists that were given out to fans.[32] Draag's national anthem is "Over Fields", which the band later uploaded onto social media.[33] In the description of the trailer which announced the tour, it states that the Black Parade alter-ego had its work privilege reinstated to celebrate the culture and accomplishments of the regime. The Black Parade's ceremonial title is "His Grand Immortal Dictator's National Band",[9][19] and the performance of the alter-ego is solely to appease the dictator. The production is intended to be a parody of political authoritarianism.[27]
For the tour, the band's vocalist Gerard Way commissioned typographer Nate Piekos to design a language for the tour, to serve as the language for Draag as well as be used on merchandise. The language is known as Keposhka. It contains more letters than the standard English alphabet, while certain letter combinations will lead to the creation of unique symbols. The language features more of these symbols than standard letters.[32]
Song adjustments and live debuts
For the main Black Parade set, My Chemical Romance made adjustments to numerous songs.[26][28] "Mama" received updated lyrics and an extension known as the "Dagger" section. Several songs received extended introductions and outros, including "Sleep".[28] A reprise version of "The End." was also added, which features an extended outro.[26]
During the B-stage set of the band's performance in San Francisco on July 19, they premiered a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings".[34] At the Chicago performance on August 29, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins joined them for another performance of "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" to close the show.[35] They premiered a cover of Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" on August 9 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[36] In their first night at Los Angeles on July 26, they played a song from The Paper Kingdom, titled "War Beneath the Rain". The song was dedicated to the family of their past producer Doug McKean, who were attending the show.[30]
Concert synopsis
Shows for Long Live The Black Parade open up with a female opera singer performing the national anthem of Draag, "Over Fields", and requesting the audience to partake in the performance.[33][37] The band then comes out on stage in their Black Parade outfits and begins performing The Black Parade in full, starting with "The End.", "Dead!", "This Is How I Disappear", and "The Sharpest Lives".[37] In-between song performances are short interactions between characters that progress the tour's overarching story. Examples include Gerard Way's character receiving orders from other characters and being punished when refusing to comply, and introducing the Grand Immortal Dictator, who is played by an actor that watches the performance.[37][29] These interactions also include localized ones specific to the city the show is taking place in, such as the band being given Dodger Dogs during their performances in Los Angeles.[27][38]
After the band's performance of "Welcome to the Black Parade", they invite the audience to participate in a mock election.[39][27][29] Prior to the show, attendees are handed voting cards for the election (which say "yea" and "nay"),[29] and vote on whether or not to execute four people.[27][39][29] The execution then takes place before the band continues performing the album, moving on to "I Don't Love You". The band continues to receive messages from the Clerk, while also expressing rebellion towards Draag, with Gerard Way at one point removing his Black Parade jacket after tearing up a message.[37][29] During the extended portion of "Mama", he steals a dagger from one of the Dictator's servants, and describes it as "a tool for our treasonous needs".[29] For "Teenagers", the show screen is flashed with multiple advertisements related to in-universe products from Draag. "Disenchanted" is preceded by a video which addresses the audience regarding unity.[37] The album's closing song, "Famous Last Words", utilizes pyrotechnics as the stage erupts into flames.[37][29]
At the end of the Black Parade set, the band performs a reprise version of "The End."[37][29] Mid-way through the performance, the Clerk comes on stage, now dressed up as a Pierrot, and stabs Gerard Way's character in the throat.[40][37][29] The rest of the band is then forcefully removed from the stage by Draag soldiers,[37][29] except for Muhoberac, who is escorted off of the stage while holding a plane ticket.[37] Afterwards, the Pierrot dances in victory to the album's hidden track "Blood". He later reveals a bomb vest underneath his costume, which detonates and closes the first set.[37][29] For the intermission between the two sets, cellist Clarice Jensen plays "From A to B".[30] For the second set, the band removes their Black Parade costumes and goes onto the stadium's smaller B-stage to play an assortment of songs from the rest of their discography.[37][31]
Sample set list
The following set list was performed at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on August 2, 2025. It is not representative of all shows during the tour.[41][42]
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