“Billy shared that the Pumpkins had confirmed headlining Lollapalooza. He said sweetly, ‘If you wanna join us for a song, please do’”: Melissa Auf der Maur lifts the veil on her surprise appearance at Lollapalooza with the Smashing Pumpkins

Musician Melissa Auf Der Maur performs at Highline Ballroom on March 3, 2011 in New York City.

Melissa Auf der Maur took fans of ’90s alt-rock connoisseurs Smashing Pumpkins by surprise in June last year when she re-emerged on stage in her native Montréal. Wielding her trusty P-Bass, she joined Billy Corgan and the Machines to hold down the low-end on The Everlasting Gaze.

Fittingly, the track – from the Smashing Pumpkins' 2000 release, Machina/The Machines of God – was the first to feature Auf der Maur in the music video following the departure of original bassist D'arcy Wretzky.