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Ghost Skeletour 2026
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Peoria Civic Center
Peoria, Illinois

Ghost

I just left the Ghost concert where Papa V Perpetua said goodbye to us by blowing us kisses. Ghost brought their Skeletour to Peoria, Illinois. Peoria Civic Center loves rock and metal shows. Many fans came from all over to see the show. Some as far away as Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ghost band had a slow rise to becoming famous and then exploded by gaining millions of fans through social media with the song “Mary on a Cross” in 2023. I first saw Ghost over twelve years ago on October 12, 2013. They opened for Deftones and Avenged Sevenfold on the Hail to The King Tour. I was so lucky to have seen them from their beginnings. It has been surprising to listen to and report on the same bands that my high school daughter listens to and be considered cool.

Ghost band formed in Sweden in 2006. They worked for years namelessly in the metal and rock industry releasing music on MySpace and released their first album Opus Eponymous in 2010. I have always liked their subtle tongue-in-cheek references as this album name means ‘self-titled release’. In 2015, they received Grammy nomination for the 2016 Grammy for best metal performance for “Cirice” which they won. I was lucky enough to see the band again at my local venue, The Castle Theatre, in Bloomington, Illinois. The capacity for The Castle Theatre is around 700 and I have seen some amazing bands there. The sold out show April 19, 2016 was hot on the heels of the Grammy win and was a moment in the career of the band. It showcased their use of Catholic imagery, Latin in their lyrics, and the use of lighting to create an artistic experience. Over the years, I have seen the rise of the band Ghost and their evolution regarding the type of music they are creating.

Papa Perpetua of Ghost

The band’s singer and creator is Tobias Forge who was unmasked and made headlines when “Nameless Ghouls” filed a lawsuit against him in 2017 over money. He was revealed and eventually fully leaned into his role. He started to take a more active part in representing the band by giving interviews and going unmasked to award shows. Ghost is touring in support of their April 25, 2025 album Skeletá. Singles, “Satanized”, “Lachryma” and “Peacefield” have been released and made it into the setlist tonight. The production of the tour has grown to a huge show with massive led screens where a video clips add to the experience of the show. The tour utilizes Yondr bags to keep phones. The refreshing result is an audience completely concentrating on the band and the show. Hopefully, other artists of the same production quality will have phone free shows.

While I was present for the whole show, press photographers are only able to take photos during the first three songs at the show. Most of the really good scenes on the screen and the enhancements to the music took place after those three songs. So to find out what happens, you must go to the show.

Nameless Ghouls wore hat, habits and and sparkly skeletons on black outfits. There were also some Nameless Ghouls with sparkly bat wings. The musicianship was also highlighted with singer Papa Perpetua and two guitarists, a bassist, a keyboardist, a drummer, and several other instrumentalists to play tambourine, shaker, and cowbell. There was a large crucifix on the ceiling in lights and sometimes lit up with the Ghost crucifix and other times as an actual crucifix. When looking up at it from the pit, it appears to be inverted. I can describe one of the backgrounds on the led screen as stained glass windows with a devil portrayed in the main one and then other devils hanging around women in some of the other ones. There was also a stained glass window containing huge millipede and another with a dragon.

Ghost

Papa Perpetua donned a papal hat and vestments. During the show, percussive cannons went off and the stained glass broke during “Year Zero”. Starlight replaced the windows and the band went into “He Is”. The main stained glass rebuilt with a Christ-like figure in a suit. More windows contained more men in suits and women in dresses. Of course, you have seen the “Mummy Dust” money and confetti come out during the song. Then during “Monstrance Clock” weird almost hedonistic art images rotated on the screen. The band ended the concert on that note.

For an encore, they played “Mary On a Cross” and there was a statue that resembled the Virgin Mary statue where her eyes started bleeding. Papa changed into a silver suit jacket. Encore song number two was “Dance Macabre” which always lends to a swing song and finally “Square Hammer”. Papa Perpetua had another costume change to a pink sequin suit jacket. While many younger fans found the band from when “Mary On a Cross” went viral on social media, they have leaned into the band and knew all the songs. Several have traveled to several shows on this tour. Ghost has progressed from Swedish metal band to being a popular band for the masses. Their songs are catchy and facetious. The message for Skeletour 2026 primarily seemed to be about love. Spreading love to everyone. So you need to go to the show to get your kisses.

You can get tickets here on their website Ghost Website

The full concert setlist: