iHeartRadio Music Festival Amps Up: Adds Ciara and The Smashing Pumpkins to Stacked Lineup

Legends will rise September 18th and 19th at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena with the newly announced lineup expansion.

The iHeartRadio Music Festival teased fans with its signature, spectacular rebus puzzles blasted across social media feeds for a cryptic, sleepless night. When the haze of confusion lifted with the morning light, 3 more killer artists joined the ultimate genre-hopping music megastar event about to descend upon Las Vegas.

The Smashing Pumpkins are living their best life releasing all of the rats out a cage in 2026! They raged a Lollapalooza headlining set that included guest performers Yungblud and Olivia Rodrigo. Chicago’s epic sonic export also spent their homecoming weekend sharing the stage with Barry Williams from The Brady Bunch at their exclusive pre-show hosted by the iconic Riviera Theatre. Next up after iHeartRadio Music Festival, fans across Europe will delight in experiencing an orchestral and operatic rendering of the beloved album with A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness Featuring Billy Corgan. Afterward, the rock gods will shred their way across America for The Rats in a Cage Tour that will include an encore performance in Las Vegas for Halloween!

Ciara stuns on every front and is poised to “Level Up” iHeartRadio Music Festival to all new heights of ecstasy. The Princess of Crunk, also known as CiCi, empowers youth with her Why Not You Foundation, sings “Yes” in a new single celebrating her enduring marriage to legendary Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, and Ciara even moonlights as a juice box mogul.

What Ciara adds to an already jaw-dropping weekend of performances is that exquisite breathy soprano voice and red-hot dancing. Speaking from personal experience, I witnessed Ciara’s live show on a recent tour when she accompanied Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes. When venue security came to ask me why I was looking around the arena right after Ciara’s set, I had to admit that I was still trying to find my jaw after it dropped and hit the floor!

The third rebus puzzle revealed itself to represent a special performance by rising star of country-pop Stella Lefty, who just released her brand new debut album Long Way Home. My way home is much shorter personally now that I reside in Las Vegas, where iHeartMedia brings the world’s greatest musical artists to a red carpet and stage that grows more dazzling each time America’s #1 audio and entertainment company makes a surprise announcement.