Mötley Crüe aren’t downsizing anytime soon if anything, Nikki Sixx says the band’s upcoming 2026 tour will push their live show further than ever before.
In a new chat with Jon Smith from 103.5 The Arrow, Sixx outlined what fans can expect from ‘The Return Of Carnival Of Sins’, a tour marking 20 years since the original Carnival Of Sins era and aligning with the band’s 45th anniversary.
Backed by Live Nation, the run will hit 33 cities across the US, kicking off July 17, 2026, with Extreme and Tesla along for the ride.
Looking back on the band’s biggest production swings, Sixx framed the new tour as a natural evolution rather than a repeat.
“Two of our biggest tours were the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ tour and the ‘Carnival Of Sins’ tour 20 years ago… And now, with the advancement of technology, we can just take the fans on a crazy journey. And I just think it’s gonna be the next level.”
For Sixx, escalation is the point, pushing spectacle has always been baked into Mötley Crüe’s DNA.
“It’s always our goal… Like all the way back in the beginning, the ‘Live Wire’ video where the band lit me on fire, and we’ve just constantly been kind of pushing.”
Developing custom pyro effects
That experimentation went as far as developing custom pyro effects, but Sixx admits even that had its limits.
“And then we kind of outgrew the pyro… So it’s, like, how do we take advantage of new technology? We don’t want you to show up and go, ‘Yeah. It looks just like the last four bands that I saw.’”
According to Sixx, everything starts with a concept and once the theme locks in, the visuals, colors, and staging fall into place.
“First and foremost, it’s a theme… once that shifted to green, it all of a sudden gave us a complete color palette for what we would actually do with the show.”
Setlists will still lean heavy on the hits, but Sixx hinted at surprises that could reshape the entire production:
“We’re not tired of playing those hits, but we are excited about getting into a setlist and diving into some songs that we maybe never played or haven’t played in a long time and shaking it up.”
Ultimately, Sixx says the goal is simple: leave people glad they showed up:
“We gotta have people going, like, ‘That was an amazing show. I love the songs. I love the show. I’m really glad I came out.’”
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