Last Friday (2/27) during a concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Trent Reznor said something that has sent some Nine Inch Nails fans in a downward spiral: this might be the group's last tour.
“I don’t know if we’re gonna be touring anymore after this, but I’m proud of the show that we’re doing right now," Reznor told the sold out crowd at the BOK Center.
"And I’m fucking grateful that you’ve chosen to spend your evening with us tonight.”
The Peel It Back tour has been incredibly well received. Last year only four other tours saw their setlists clicked on more than NIN's: Springsteen, Coldplay, Metallica, and Oasis.
And they had just welcomed back their old drummer, Josh Freese, after he had been unexpectedly shown the door by the Foo Fighters. Imagine the abandonment issues he could experience if this plug is pulled.
On one hand, Trent is 60. He and his wife are raising 5 kids who are between 5 and 15 years old.
Plus his film composition career has been a steady challenge since 2010, when he and Atticus Ross wrote the score for The Social Network (2010). Over the last 10 years they have created the vibe for Gone Girl (2014), Patriots Day (2016), Before the Flood (2016), Bird Box (2018), Watchmen (2019), Waves (2019), Mank (2020), Soul (2020), The Woman in the Window (2021), Bones and All (2022), Empire of Light (2022), Challengers (2024), and Tron: Ares (2025).
And on the other hand, the band has floated the idea of hanging it all up before.
During 2009's Wave Goodbye tour, they hinted at ending it. They did it again in 2013, 2018, and 2022.
Many feared they had chosen not to rock live anymore in 2014, but just three years later they decided to Add Violence, and by 2017, there they were again entertaining crowds at headline shows and festivals.
Trent and Atticus have won two Oscars, two Grammys, three Golden Globes, and even an Emmy. They are very good at making music.
They are very bad at retiring from live performances.
Let's hope it stays that way, although having your last two shows be from the stage of Coachella, which is where they'll be performing 4/10 & 4/17 as Nine Inch Noize, is quite a way to go out.
If NIN stops touring after the last 9 shows on their calendar, if they play "Head Like A Hole" each gig, they'd have done it 1,029 times. It would be their top song they've performed live by a good margin.
"Wish" will come in at 930, if they play that one throughout the run. "March of the Pigs" will make it to 889. And the song Johnny Cash loved, "Hurt," would have gotten love live 793 times.
If they hang it up after Coachella, they would have performed 1,113 times according to the number of setlists there are in our database.
Their first setlist, opening for Skinny Puppy in Lakewood, OH, could serve as a blueprint for the deep cuts they might use to surprise their final audience if they ended Weekend Two in Indio with it.
Will these be the last shows by NIN?
Imagine if how you were considering to go, chose not to, and the really end it. Or better yer: get your tickets on the NIN website.
NIN Peel It Back 2026 remaining dates
3/06 Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, AZ
3/07 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV
3/09 Pechanga Arena, San Diego, CA
3/10 Honda Center, Anaheim, CA
3/13 Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
3/15 Chase Center, San Francisco, CA
3/16 Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
4/10 Coachella, Indio, CA
4/17 Coachella, Indio, CA
