Nikki Sixx Says Mötley Crüe Is Changing Their Set List for 2026
There’s a lot of people who didn’t get into [the band] until ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ or ‘Dr. Feelgood,’” he explains in a new interview.
See what he had to share about next year’s plans

Because everyone loves a sequel, Motley Crue is bringing the Return of the Carnival of Sins tour to the masses next summer. The 33-date outing will feature support from Tesla and Extreme.

Naturally, Motley fans are always curious to know what the set list will look like. Without fully showing his hand, cofounding bassist Nikki Sixx indicated that there will be some changes for the upcoming run. “A big part of the conversation is like, you know, obviously the fans want to hear the hits,” he explained during an interview with Corey of WMMS. “But also, what can we bring in there [that fans haven’t heard as much]? Like, there’s so many cool songs.”

Motley Crue Wants Fans to Help Choose Songs for the ‘Return of the Carnival of Sins’ Tour

“At some point here, we’re going to get an opportunity to ask the fans, actually, what they [are interested in hearing],” he added. “We can kind of pick and choose through that and salt and pepper our set with some, you know, [deeper] songs. We just did the Vegas residency, and we’ve been playing ‘On With the Show’ and it’s such a fun song. Some of these songs are really fun that not everybody knows. You know, ‘Live Wire’ was a breakout off our first record. There’s a lot of people [who] didn’t get into Motley Crue until Girls, Girls, Girls or Dr. Feelgood.

READ MORE: How Motley Crue Hit a New Peak With ‘Dr. Feelgood’

“They might have heard a couple tracks [from the earlier years]. So when you play something like ‘On With the Show’ and ‘Starry Eyes,’ [it makes an impression],” he added. “We haven’t figured out the set list, because the set list will also dictate some things that we do with the show. [But] we’re really excited. This is the fun part for us. There’s two parts, the creation of something that we’re really excited to do, and then [we can’t wait] to get it out there and play it for the fans.”

Listen to Motley Crue Perform ‘Starry Eyes’

The Motley Set List is an ‘Interesting Conversation’

During a 2024 interview with UCR, Sixx drilled down even further on why it’s so difficult for them to put together a set list each time they go out. “This is the interesting conversation in the sense that you have those fans to the left that [say] you guys should only play [deep] tracks,” he explained. “And then there’s the fans to the right that don’t want to hear the [deep] song [instead of] the hits. They only want to hear the hits and they’re really disappointed. I love [David] Bowie and one of my disappointing Bowie moments was he went out and did a tour and didn’t play any of his hits.”

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Mötley Crüe: The Dirt: Declassified – Deluxe Bundle

“So we don’t ever want to be that band. We try to [balance] with new stuff and some old stuff and be aware of what people want,” he added. “It is a little difficult…..but it’s fun to do those old songs. I wish we could do more. But then you have to take something out to add something and what are you going to take out? We added ‘On With the Show’ and took out ‘Don’t Go Away Mad,’ which is a massive hit, but they’re kind of the same tempo. You know, it’s a struggle.”

What Has Motley Crue Been Doing This Year?

In addition to the residency in Las Vegas, the band also celebrated the 40th anniversary of their landmark Theatre of Pain album by releasing an expanded box set featuring bonus material, including a previously unreleased live concert from Long Beach, California on vinyl. It was a relatively quiet year for the group, which they eventually revealed was in part, due to a series of strokes that Vince Neil suffered in recent years that required an extended period of recovery.

READ MORE: Motley Crue Add 1985 Live Album to ‘Theatre of Pain’ Box Set

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2026’s Biggest Rock Tours

Rock reunions are creating some of the biggest headlines for 2026 – but there are lots of other huge shows on the way.

Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso

Rush

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Rush

Rush returns in 2026 with a surprise reunion featuring surviving members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson along with Anika Nilles, who’s filling in for their late drummer Neil Peart. Lee and Lifeson haven’t toured together since Rush’s R40 dates in 2015. The Fifty Something tour kicks off in June 2026 in Los Angeles but Rush continued to add dates and venues as the shows quickly sold out, initially extending this tour well into December.

Guns N Roses

Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses have been touring everywhere recently – except America. In fact, they’ve been absent from U.S. shores for three years. That’s changing in 2026: They’ve already confirmed a 2026 appearance at the Welcome to Rockville Festival in Florida – with more to come. Slash said the tour announcement will be “coming soon, so I can safely say that that’s happening.” A long-awaited new Guns N’ Roses album has also been promised.

AC/DC

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AC/DC

AC/DC circles back to North America with a 17-date tour that gets underway in July with a North Carolina stop and continues through September in Pennsylvania. This will be the second time lead guitarist Angus Young, singer Brian Johnson and company have visited on their Power Up tour, named after the group’s most recent LP. Dates kicked off back in May 2024. AC/DC is also playing three shows in South America.

Bon Jovi

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Bon Jovi

Bon Jovi returns to the concert trail for their first tour in four years. Their 2026 tour kicks off with four July shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden then heads to Europe. Jon Bon Jovi had been struggling to sing before undergoing a reconstructive procedure known as vocal cord medialization. The first hint of a comeback happened in June, when Bon Jovi played a private show for fans.

Neal Schon

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Journey

Journey will say goodbye with a massive trek around the world. The first stops on the Final Frontier Tour are set for February, with North American concerts through July. Neal Schon has promised more dates into 2027. “It’s going to be a very different show,” he added. “We’re going to dig deep – and the sets are going to be much longer.” Jonathan Cain confirmed his departure in October, following years of infighting.

Heart

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Heart

Heart has extended their ongoing Royal Flush tour into 2026. They began playing these dates in 2024 but had to postpone several concerts so Ann Wilson could undergo cancer treatment. The next leg begins in February at Duluth, Georgia and runs through March at Fishers, Indiana. Lucinda Williams opens select dates. Wilson will also be the subject of a 2026 documentary titled In My Voice, which will chronicle her life and career.

metallicas james hetfield

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Metallica

Metallica’s blockbuster M72 world tour in support of their most recent album, 72 Seasons, will continue with European dates in 2026 featuring some big opening acts. The next leg kicks off in May at Athens, Greece, and ends in July in London, with several of Metallica’s always-popular No Repeat Weekends along the way. They haven’t played some of these cities in decades. Special guests include Pantera, Gojira and Avatar.

Styx

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Styx

Styx has very special plans for their first concerts of 2026. They’ll play 1978’s three-times platinum Top 10 smash Pieces of Eight, along with other favorites, during a string of January shows at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas. Pieces of Eight featured Tommy Shaw’s hit singles “Renegade” and “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights).” Earlier this year, Styx showcased the preceding platinum-selling Grand Illusion LP at the Venetian.

Def Leppard

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Def Leppard

Def Leppard’s first confirmed 2026 appearances included a 12-show residency in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. This is their third Las Vegas run, following sold-out performances in 2013 and 2019. Def Leppard played 1987’s Hysteria in 2013, opening for themselves as the humorously named Ded Flatbird. The 2019 Vegas shows took a more expansive look back, with a 23-song set that included material from throughout Def Leppard’s career.

Eagles

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Eagles

The Eagles will return to their Las Vegas residency in January after a 10-week break. They initially confirmed eight shows at the Sphere, beginning in January. This series kicked off in September 2024; the 2026 performances will bring their total number of Sphere shows to more than 50. Setlists have included the best-known Eagles songs along with solo favorites like Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” and Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way.”

Iron Maiden

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Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden’s Run for Your Lives Tour hits North American venues in 2026 with 12 dates beginning in August at Toronto. The initial announcement confirmed a closing date in September at San Antonio. This tour launched in Europe with a set list focusing on their first nine albums from 1980’s Iron Maiden to 1992’s Fear of the Dark. Megadeth will serve as opening act, with Anthrax providing additional support at the stadium shows.

Billy Gibbons

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ZZ Top

ZZ Top will play some dozen North American shows with country star Dwight Yoakam then head to Europe, after band stalwart Billy Gibbons makes his own run with a different trio. Scheduled shows for Gibbon’s BFG Band – which also includes former Stevie Ray Vaughan drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton – begin in January. ZZ Top’s Dos Amigos Tour then follows from April into May. They play Europe in June and July.

Deep Purple

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Deep Purple

Deep Purple has confirmed a big summer tour in Europe after only playing a few one-off shows in 2025. They’ll also play a few concerts in Japan. Deep Purple’s last major trek was in late 2024 on a shared bill with Yes. These latest shows follow a career-threatening revelation from longtime frontman Ian Gillan: “I’ve only got 30 percent vision,” he confirmed, adding that failing eyesight could mean retirement is “not far off.”

Motley Crue

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Motley Crue

Motley Crue’s Return of the Carnival of Sins Tour celebrates their 45th year and the 20th anniversary of the original Carnival of Sins dates. Tesla and Extreme will also appear as things get underway in July. “This new show is for the Crueheads who’ve been with us through it all,” the band said, “and for the new Crueheads who didn’t get to experience Carnival of Sins last time around.”

Foo Fighters

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Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters will tour stadiums this summer with Queens of the Stone Age. The initial 12 Take Cover Tour stops included Detroit, Philadelphia and Nashville with an August kickoff in Toronto. They’d hinted at a wider return in September with a series of club shows. Earlier in 2025, Foo Fighters also released “Today’s Song,” a tribute to former members including long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died unexpectedly in 2022.

Neil Young

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Neil Young

Neil Young is more active than ever. Over the last five years alone, he’s issued 19 editions in the Neil Young Archives series, to go with a trio of his four-disc Official Release Series box sets and three new LPs. He still somehow finds time to play concerts, as well. (There have also been three live albums since 2020.) Young will continue 2025’s Love Earth Tour into next year with summer dates in Europe and the U.K.

Sting

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Sting

Sting has extended his ongoing North American tour again with 12 additional 2026 shows, including a multi-night stand at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia. These dates mark a return to the Police’s career-making trio format, this time alongside longtime guitarist and collaborator Dominic Miller and drummer Chris Maas. He’s already brought this tour, dubbed “Sting 3.0,” to Europe, Asia and South America.

Santana

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Santana

Carlos Santana quickly bounced back from postponing concerts earlier this year after collapsing during a soundcheck. His 2026 dates include both the Oneness Tour and shows as part of the “Intimate Evening With Santana: Greatest Hits Live” series at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. Everything gets going in January, with concerts continuing into May. This is Santana’s 14th year of residency performances at Mandalay Bay.

Bob Dylan

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Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan doesn’t describe his concerts as the Never Ending Tour anymore – but it’s still an apt description. Outside of the pandemic era, he’s been on the road since the late ’80s. Dates haven’t been announced for next year, but rest assured, they’ll happen: “To all fans and followers of Rough and Rowdy Ways Show, we will see you early Spring 2026,” Dylan confirmed in November. “Will let you know where and when later.”

Ringo Starr

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Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr heads back out in May with longtime collaborator Steve Lukather and the rest of the All Starr Band. Their most recent dates included a well-received residency at the Venetian in Las Vegas, following Starr’s return to the rootsy style of 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues on the new album Look Up. Starr’s current touring lineup also includes Colin Hay and Hamish Stuart, among others. The shows run through June.

Cheap Trick

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Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick hits the road again in January with more than 20 confirmed dates. The All Washed Up Tour, supporting the group’s well-received 21st album of the same name, continues into April 2026. Highlights of the trek include a pair of concerts in Las Vegas at the Venetian Theatre, where the band will play Cheap Trick at Budokan in its entirety – along with an additional set of greatest hits.

Chicago

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Chicago

Chicago hits two big milestones in 2026. Confirmed dates into the summer extend a run of touring every year since the group was founded in the late ’60s. Chicago’s nine-show engagement in February at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas also marks their ninth year at the venue, and that’s the longest-running residency in the Venetian Theatre’s history. The group’s most recent release is Chicago IX: Greatest Hits Expanded.

Lynyrd Skynyrd

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Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd will share the stage with Foreigner next summer in 19 cities. The Double Trouble Double Vision Tour gets going in July at Atlanta, with dates continuing into late August. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s most recent release showcased the group’s final concert with Gary Rossington, the stalwart co-founding guitarist who died in 2023. Foreigner hits the road as they celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary in 2026.

Foreigner

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Foreigner

Aside from touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foreigner’s solo headlining dates in 2026 include 10 concerts with an orchestra. Five opening shows are set for March at the Venetian Theatre in Las Vegas, then Foreigner heads to California. Before then, their 2025 shows mark new frontman Luis Maldonado’s first major stateside appearances. Foreigner is also completing unreleased songs from the classic-era Head Games and Agent Provocateur albums.

Megadeth

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Megadeth

Megadeth begins a tour in June that they say will be their last. Shows in Europe precede North American stops in August with already-confirmed shows through September in Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Charlotte, San Antonio and Los Angeles, among others. “Don’t be mad, don’t be sad,” frontman Dave Mustaine said. “Be happy for us all. Come celebrate with me these next few years.” A final album is also planned.

Duran Duran

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Duran Duran

Duran Duran’s next run of U.S. shows kicks off Dec. 30 and continues into early 2026 with stops in California, Nevada and Arizona. Included is a two-night stand in early January at Las Vegas. A show later that month in Phoenix will be bookended by concerts in San Diego, then Anaheim and Sacramento. Meanwhile, the band is concluding a string of European dates that began in the summer.

Jon Anderson

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Jon Anderson

Founding Yes frontman Jon Anderson begins another round of U.S. tour dates in April. He’ll remain on the road through May with the Band Geeks, who are led by Blue Oyster Cult bassist Richie Castellano. Anderson found the Band Geeks on YouTube after stumbling across their performance of the Yes classic “Heart of the Sunrise.” They’ve since released two albums together, 2024’s True and 2025’s Live: Perpetual Change.

Rick Wakeman

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Rick Wakeman

Anderson’s longtime bandmate Rick Wakeman will tour the U.S. with his son Oliver, a fellow former member of Yes. They kick off in March. Some of these concerts replace postponed dates from 2025’s Strictly Wakeman Tour. Wakeman called off more than half a dozen concerts, citing an unspecified health issue that required surgery. Rick Wakeman had five stints with Yes, beginning in 1971. Oliver Wakeman was in the lineup from 2008–11.

Rod Stewart

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Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart isn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. He’s extended the One Last Time tour into 2026, with support from Howard Jones and Richard Marx on select dates. The new series of shows begins in March and continues through August across the U.S. “I still enjoy what I’m doing,” Stewart says. “Absolutely love it, but all things have to come to an end.” This tour launched back in 2024.

Cyndi Lauper

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Cyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper played a gala farewell tour this year, capped in August with a guest-packed show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Then she changed her mind. Lauper returns in 2026 with her first Las Vegas residency, playing a run of shows in April and May in the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Lauper will be a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by then. The latest class is set for induction this November.

Dee Snider

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Twisted Sister

Twisted Sister is still firming up plans for a 50th anniversary reunion, with one date already confirmed. They’ll play the Barcelona Rock Fest in July as part of the first Twisted Sister tour since 2016. The lineup is set to include frontman Dee Snider, longtime guitarists Jay Jay French and Eddie Ojeda, drummer Joe Franco (who appeared on 1987’s Love Is for Suckers) and bassist Russell Pzutto, who played on Snider’s last two solo albums.

Toto

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Toto

When he’s not appearing with Ringo Starr, Steve Lukather will take Toto back out on the road. They’ve scheduled a series of “Evening With Toto” performances that will feature a newly curated set list from Lukather and Joseph Williams with more than two hours of music. The tour kicks off in February. Last summer’s dates with Christopher Cross and Men at Work put the band before more than half a million fans.

Bonnie Raitt

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Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt will tour all over North America in 2026, beginning in May. She released eight consecutive Top 20 hit albums through 2016, then the title track from 2022’s Just Like That was named song of the year at the 65th annual Grammy Awards. Raitt will be joined for a string of dates in Canada by the New Orleans-based pianist Jon Cleary, one of her long-time writing and touring collaborators.

The Guess Who

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The Guess Who

Guess who is staging a reunion tour? Yep, the Guess Who. Founding guitarist Randy Bachman and classic-era singer Burton Cummings are leading a trek that begins with 12 dates in their native Canada. “It’ll be the unveiling of ‘The Guess Who are back,’” Bachman says. The duo regained control of the band name from another lineup of musicians in late 2024. They then quickly signed on for Rock Legends Cruise XIII in February.

Graham Nash

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Graham Nash

Graham Nash will begin 2026 with 18 concerts between April and May along the East Coast, including stops in New York, Florida, Connecticut and South Carolina. Set lists will draw from throughout his 60-year career, highlighted by Crosby Stills and Nash favorites. Nash was set to close out 2025 in New York City at the 45th annual John Lennon Tribute Concert. His most recent album is 2023’s Now.

Nine Inch Nails

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Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails wrapped up the most recent leg of the Peel It Back Tour in September and released the soundtrack to Tron: Ares ahead of the movie’s October opening. Now Trent Reznor is setting his sights on 2026, with 20 more dates on the itinerary. Nine Inch Nails’ next tour kicks off in February at New Orleans and then hits Boston, Montreal, Dallas and San Diego, among others, before concluding in March at Sacramento.

little feat

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Little Feat

Little Feat will begin the “process of retiring” from the road in April with the first shows on the Last Farewell Tour, a title that recalls 1975’s The Last Record Album. A new expanded edition of the LP celebrates its 50th anniversary, just months after Little Feat released their bluesy 18th studio project, Strike Up the Band. They’ll kick off 2026 with a mid-January appearance aboard the Sandy Beaches Cruise.

Poison

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Poison

Dates haven’t been announced, but Poison drummer Rikki Rockett confirms plans to tour in 2026. He said they hope to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their debut album, 1986’s Look What the Cat Dragged In. Frontman Bret Michaels spent this year focused on solo performances, including the Parti Gras Tour, but said in September that a 2026 reunion “would make perfect sense. … In my opinion, it would be the perfect 40th anniversary tour.”

Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi

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Tedeschi Trucks Band

Tedeschi Trucks Band will play a string of dates in March, April and July, with a highlight six-night return to the Beacon Theatre in New York City on tap. It’s a special venue for former Allman Brothers Band guitarist Derek Trucks, who leads this 12-piece group with vocalist Susan Tedeschi. The Tedeschi Trucks Band has also confirmed some festival dates, including the third installment of their own Sun, Sand and Soul gathering.

Warren Haynes

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Warren Haynes

Warren Haynes will mount his first solo tour, beginning in February. Set lists for the Winter of Warren concerts will include material from the Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule and his own albums. “The focus becomes much more about my voice and the songs themselves and less about virtuoso guitar playing – although I try to include some fun guitar stuff as well,” he said. Gigs with the Warren Haynes Band will follow.

Tesla

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Tesla

Already out on the road, Tesla is changing the name of their Keepin’ It Real Tour to the Still Keepin’ It Real Tour as the calendar flips into 2026. January stops include New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Mexico, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. They also played a residency over five nights at the House of Blues Las Vegas inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

George Thorogood

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George Thorogood

George Thorogood takes his Baddest Show on Earth across North America again, starting in March. Though he rose to fame with brawny updates of John Lee Hooker and Hank Williams songs, Thorogood insists he’s isn’t a cover act: “Joe Cocker does covers. Linda Ronstadt does covers. George Thorogood does obscure material. I’m the Indiana Jones of rock and roll!” Some shows will be “evening with” performances, while others feature Robert Cray.

Monkees

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Monkees

Micky Dolenz will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Monkees with a lengthy tour. He sang most of their best-known songs, including a trio of No. 1 hits in 1967, “Last Train to Clarksville,” “I’m a Believer” and “(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone.” Dolenz remained through every subsequent album and tour, and is now the group’s last surviving member. The 60 Years of the Monkees Tour continues from February through November.

James Taylor

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James Taylor

James Taylor will return to the U.K. for the first time in more than three years with a series of concerts in July. Don’t be surprised if they throw out the set list. “We want to be as present and available in the moment, right there in real time, as possible,” Taylor says. There will also be one European concert, as he makes a quick trip to Amsterdam. Taylor then returns for a large show at the O2 Arena in London.

Weird Al Yankovic

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‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

“Weird Al” Yankovic’s recent Bigger and Weirder Tour was aptly named: This 65-date multimedia comedy-rock concert marked a long-awaited return to his parody songs, with a huge stage production and lots of costume changes. No worries, however, if he never made it to your town: There are now 90 more chances to see Yankovic across North America in 2026, starting in May.

Read More: Nikki Sixx Says Motley Crue Is Changing Their Set List for 2026 | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-concert-set-list-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawOTQnpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFuNUJadExRMUxGSWZZcGF0c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHseTayR7dQty-YASUz-e2n4e2B6jhttFgwB9gQHY7tu46px3A1Qr_bdsTHNX_aem_Rv2vZd__s6rARLZTUbHq8g&utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral