Announced: Billy Corgan at Grand; Justin Townes Earle in Arden

Two years after Soundgarden's Chris Cornell performed at The Grand, the Wilmington theater will welcome another iconic '90s rock voice this fall for a rare solo concert.

The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan, billed as William Patrick Corgan, will bring a limited-run acoustic tour to Market Street on Wednesday, Oct. 18 -- five days following the release of his second solo album, "Ogilala."

On the same day as The Grand's announcement, Arden's Gild Hall unveiled a pair of shows, including Americana singer/songwriter Justin Townes Earle on Tuesday, Nov. 14. (More on that below.)

Tickets for Corgan ($45-$59.50) go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. via thegrandwilmington.org, 652-5577 or at the box office at 818 N. Market Street.

Corgan's new album, which is produced by Rick Rubin, "presents Corgan’s distinctive vocals and melodies across a sparse, but rich palette of acoustic guitar, piano, and strings," according to promoters.

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Corgan's announced fall tour consists of 13 shows in eight cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Chicago, Toronto, Nashville, Boulder and -- against all odds -- Wilmington. 

"These intimate performances will see Corgan perform songs from 'Ogilala,' as well as a second set which will span works from his earliest days through his years as the frontman of The Smashing Pumpkins and beyond," promoters announced Tuesday morning.

Corgan's solo concerts in recent years have consisted mainly of covers, singing songs by performers such as Hank Williams, Blind Faith, Bob Dylan and The Beatles. 

Corgan, 50, is the solo permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins, the alternative rock band that rattled off a string of hits in the early- and mid-'90s including "1979," "Today" and "Tonight, Tonight". The act has sold more than 30 million albums.

Announcing his fall tour, Corgan stated, "For as long as I can remember the delineation point between songs I wrote for myself and songs I'd pen for whatever band was something I couldn't explain. And it remains so, for they all feel quite personal to me, no matter their time or era. The lone difference on songs for 'Ogilala' is that they seemed to want little in the way of adornment. Having written the songs for voice and guitar, I put myself in Rick's hands to take the music wherever he'd like. Normally I would have done more, and tinkered more on production, but rather Rick put the onus on me to deliver at a molecular level via live takes. The rest was simply a reaction.”

The show is presented by The Grand and Live Nation.

A few exits north off I-95, the Gild Hall announced Earle's return, which will come two years after he broke the venue's record for quickest sell-out.

This time, Earle will perform as part of a duo alongside his longtime sideman (and up-and-coming solo country/Americana act) Joshua Hedley. 

Tickets ($37) for the Nov. 14 show go on sale Friday, Aug. 25 at noon at ardenconcerts.com.

Also announced for the Gild Hall: Ought, a Canadian post-punk quartet from Montreal, will rock the barn Monday, Nov. 20.  Stand-out Wilmington rocker Grace Vonderkuhn will open. A third yet-to-be-announced act will round out the bill. Tickets ($13) are on sale now.

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).