The pop-rock band Panic! at the Disco, founded in Las Vegas over 20 years ago and eventually evolved into Brendon Urie’s solo project, decided to disband after its next European tour on Tuesday morning. Panic! At The Disco will cease to exist, according to Urie, who also announced that he and his wife are expecting their first child. Urie adds, “I am going to bring this chapter of my life to a close and spend my concentration and energy on my family.”
The final tour starts on February 20 in Vienna and ends on March 10 in Manchester, England. The whole statement from Urie is given below.
I could never have imagined where this life would lead me growing up in Vegas. There are many locations globally, not to mention all the folks we’ve met.
A trip must sometimes come to an end for another to start. Though some of you may have heard, we have been trying to keep it to ourselves. Sarah and I are going to have a baby shortly! It’s wonderful and humbling to think about being a parent and seeing my wife becoming a mother. This next journey excites me.
Having stated that, I’ll close this chapter of my life and devote all of my attention to my family; with that, Panic! There will be no more At The Disco.
I appreciate all of your help throughout the years. I’ve been sitting here trying to think of the right way to say this, but I can’t express how much it has meant to us. It has been a joy to share the stage with so many brilliant individuals and our time with you, whether you have been with us from the beginning or are just discovering us. I’m excited to run with everyone in Europe and the UK one final time.
When Urie and his other co-founders Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson were still in high school in 2004, the group recorded seven albums. The following year, they released their first album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out,” which became popular thanks to the smash song “I Write Sins Not Tragedies.” The record earned triple platinum certification, and the trio won big at the MTV Video Music Awards the following year. Urie and Smith were the only original members who remained when Wilson quit the group before the release of their second album, “Pretty. Odd.,” which signaled a shift in musical direction. Before Smith departed informally in 2013 and permanently in 2015, two additional albums, “Vices & Virtues” (with Urie and Smith playing all the instruments) and “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die!” But the group had long ago evolved into Urie’s solo project.
Urie then released two additional albums, intermingled with his Broadway debut in Kinky Boots, a musical by Cyndi Lauper. Over the years, he has worked with various singers, from Fall Out Boy to Taylor Swift, more recently, duetting with her and featured in the lavish video for her 2018 smash song “Me!” The band’s prior highs were not attained when he resurrected Panic with the album and song “Viva Las Vengeance” last year.
It still needs to be determined how Panic will differ from Urie’s next ventures as he is the only continuous member of the group. Nevertheless, he believed the name was no longer fitting and, at the age of 35, made the decision it was time to move on.
