John Lydon isn’t retiring. Not yet. Not on your watch, and apparently not on his either.
Public Image Ltd — the post-punk institution Lydon forged from the ashes of the Sex Pistols back in 1978 — have announced an extensive North American tour kicking off September 3rd in Pioneertown, California. They’re calling it ‘This Is Not…The Final PiL Tour’, which is exactly the kind of declarative, paradoxical statement you’d expect from a band that has spent nearly five decades refusing to be pinned down.
The first leg runs through October 9th in Nashville, hitting heavy hitters like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, and Boston along the way. A second leg picks back up in February 2027, sweeping through Texas, the South, and the Midwest before wrapping in Cleveland in late March. Tickets are on sale now through venue box offices and pilofficial.com.
The tour follows a run of UK and European shows and festival appearances in 2025 — a return to the road that came after a genuinely difficult stretch for Lydon personally. The loss of his wife Nora and his longtime friend and manager John “Rambo” Stevens, both in 2023, had him questioning whether he’d tour again at all. Turns out the fans had other ideas.
“After losing Nora, and Rambo, I couldn’t see a way through,” Lydon said. “The thing is, people were so overwhelmingly positive, they really showed me a lot of love, and they asked me to tour PiL again. With so many people asking and with the band meaning so much to them, I couldn’t just stay on my sofa and not tour — tempting though that obviously is.”
The timing couldn’t be more loaded with new material. A live album, ‘Alive’ — recorded during last year’s European run — is set for a Spring release (details still forthcoming, pre-order link live now). And the band is currently in the studio working on a full album of new material due in early 2027. PiL’s current lineup features Lydon on vocals alongside Lu Edmonds (guitar), Scott Firth (bass), and drummer Mark Roberts, who stepped in following Bruce Smith’s departure at the end of 2023.
A band with five UK Top 20 singles and five UK Top 20 albums under their belt, and a catalog stretching from the jagged dub-funk of ‘Metal Box’ to the sun-scorched weirdness of ‘Album,’ PiL have earned every ounce of their iconoclast reputation. The fact that they’re still here — still writing, still touring, still refusing to be a nostalgia act — is frankly remarkable.
“We’re looking forward to playing to our friends in North America,” Lydon added. “It feels like it’s been a long time and we’re pleased to be coming back. You’ll be hearing a lot more from PiL.”
You’ve been warned.
Public Image Ltd — ‘This Is Not…The Final PiL Tour’ North American Dates:
September 2025
∙ September 3 — Pioneertown, CA — Pappy & Harriet’s
∙ September 5 — Santa Cruz, CA — Rio Theatre
∙ September 8 — Santa Ana, CA — The Observatory
∙ September 10 — Los Angeles, CA — The Belasco
∙ September 11 — San Diego, CA — House of Blues
∙ September 12 — San Francisco, CA — The Fillmore
∙ September 14 — Portland, OR — Wonder Ballroom
∙ September 15 — Seattle, WA — Neptune Theatre
∙ September 16 — Boise, ID — Treefort Music Hall
∙ September 22 — Minneapolis, MN — First Avenue
∙ September 23 — Milwaukee, WI — Turner Hall Ballroom
∙ September 25 — Detroit, MI — St. Andrew’s Hall
∙ September 26 — Toronto, ON — Danforth Music Hall
∙ September 28 — New York, NY — Webster Hall
∙ September 29 — Pittsburgh, PA — Roxian Theatre
October 2025
∙ October 1 — Washington, D.C. — 9:30 Club
∙ October 2 — Philadelphia, PA — Union Transfer
∙ October 3 — Boston, MA — Paradise Rock Club
∙ October 5 — Richmond, VA — The National
∙ October 6 — Raleigh, NC — Lincoln Theatre
∙ October 8 — Atlanta, GA — Variety Playhouse
∙ October 9 — Nashville, TN — Brooklyn Bowl
February–March 2027
∙ February 17 — Salt Lake City, UT — The Grand At The Complex
∙ February 18 — Denver, CO — Gothic Theatre
∙ February 20 — Oklahoma City, OK — Tower Theatre
∙ February 21 — San Antonio, TX — Aztec Theatre
∙ February 23 — Austin, TX — Mohawk
∙ February 24 — Dallas, TX — Echo Lounge & Music Hall
∙ February 25 — Houston, TX — White Oak Music Hall
∙ February 27–March 6 — New Orleans, LA — The 80’s Cruise 2027
∙ March 8 — St. Petersburg, FL — Jannus Live
∙ March 9 — Fort Myers, FL — The Ranch
∙ March 10 — Fort Lauderdale, FL — Revolution Live
∙ March 12 — Orlando, FL — The Plaza Live
∙ March 13 — Ponte Vedra Beach, FL — Ponte Vedra Concert Hall
∙ March 14 — Charlotte, NC — The Underground
∙ March 16 — Louisville, KY — Mercury Ballroom
∙ March 17 — Lexington, KY — Manchester Music Hall
∙ March 19 — St. Louis, MO — The Sovereign
∙ March 21 — Cincinnati, OH — Bogart’s
∙ March 23 — Columbus, OH — Newport Music Hall
∙ March 24 — Cleveland, OH — Globe Iron
More info and full ticketing at pilofficial.com.
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