The Black Parade World Tour

The Black Parade World Tour was a concert tour by the American rock band My Chemical Romance in support of their third studio album, The Black Parade (2006). The tour began on February 22, 2007, in Manchester, New Hampshire and concluded on May 9, 2008, in New York City. 133 shows were a part of the tour, with locations spanning across five different continents, ranging from cities such as the aforementioned New York City to Buenos Aires and Moscow.

The Black Parade World Tour

Tour by My Chemical Romance
Promotional poster example
Associated album	The Black Parade
Start date	February 22, 2007
End date	May 9, 2008
No. of shows	133
Supporting acts	Muse Rise Against
My Chemical Romance concert chronology

For most of the tour, My Chemical Romance would play The Black Parade in its entirety dressed up as an alter-ego marching band named after the album. After playing the album in its entirety, the band would then play a selection of songs from their previous albums. These shows saw extensive use of theatrics and additional stage elements, such as pyrotechnics and blimps that would rise over the stage. Shows throughout the tour would follow this format until October 7, 2007, when the "Black Parade" persona was "killed off" in Mexico City. After that point, the band would no longer play the album in its entirety, but would continue to support it through other shows with more varied set lists.

The tour received positive reviews from journalists, who highlighted the theatrical elements of the shows as well as the performances of the band, specifically front man Gerard Way. According to the Billboard Boxscore, the tour generated an average of $183,600 in revenue per show, with an average of 5,415 tickets sold per date. The October 7 show was later released as the live album The Black Parade Is Dead! in 2008. In 2021, Kerrang! ranked it as one of the best concert tours of all time. A second concert tour themed around The Black Parade, Long Live The Black Parade, began in 2025 and is set to continue throughout the year and into 2026.

Background and development

My Chemical Romance released their third studio album, The Black Parade, on October 23, 2006, through Reprise Records. A concept album, it centers around a man dying from cancer, known as "the Patient", who reflects upon his life as he nears his death, which is presented to him in the form of his fondest childhood memory: seeing a marching band. This also led to the creation of an alter-ego band named after the album, simply titled "The Black Parade". To promote the album, My Chemical Romance would perform around 60 standalone shows throughout 2006.

On December 18, 2006, My Chemical Romance announced the first leg of the Black Parade World Tour, consisting 17 dates at stadiums throughout the United States. Around the same time, a set of dates for the United Kingdom were announced. A second leg with 18 more dates was announced on February 1, 2007, with all set in the United States except for one show in Vancouver. Shortly afterwards, 7 stops at Canadian cities were announced. The tour continued to announce more, and it formally began on February 22 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The European leg of the tour started on March 20, and by May they were back in the United States for a second North American leg. They then went to Europe again shortly afterwards. The band then went to Mexico in October to play a show, went back to their home state of New Jersey, and then returned to Europe in November.

On October 7, 2007, My Chemical Romance "killed off" the "Black Parade" persona at their performance at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. While the tour continued beyond this point until the aforementioned performance at the Madison Square Garden, the band would no longer perform as "The Black Parade", nor would they play the album in its entirety. This date was the initial planned conclusion of the whole tour, although with the continued commercial success of The Black Parade, which by then had become a cultural phenomenon, the band felt that they had to continue playing. The continuation of the tour was also connected to frontman Gerard Way's desire to play a "dream show" at the Madison Square Garden. The performance in Mexico City was recorded and released as the live album The Black Parade Is Dead! in 2008.

The band continued on with the tour in December 2007 with a series of dates of Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. The band then kept up with the tour throughout 2008, with January bringing them back to Asia, February bringing the band to South America, and March taking them back to Europe once more. In April, the band returned to the United States for the final leg of the tour, which concluded on May 9, 2008, with their performance at the Madison Square Garden. By the end of the tour, the band had played about 133 shows within 400 days across the world, ranging from cities such as Buenos Aires to Moscow, though some of these dates were cancelled.

Throughout the course of the tour, the band suffered extreme burnout and sustained several injuries and illnesses. These ranged from depression to food poisoning. Consequentially, some members had to be hospitalized and two tour dates were cancelled. On January 11, 2007, Frank Iero temporarily left the tour because of an unspecified illness, being replaced by Drive By guitarist Todd Price. Drummer Bob Bryar sustained wrist injuries at one point which evolved into carpal tunnel syndrome. Additionally, bassist Mikey Way took time off to get married and spend time with his new wife, Alicia Simmons, and was replaced by guitar tech Matt Cortez from April 18, 2007, until October 4, 2007.

Production