Almost thirty years on, “Iris” still detonates the same way the moment those opening chords ring out — and the Goo Goo Dolls are bringing that catalog back to the road this summer. The Buffalo band rolls into The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton on Saturday, September 5, 2026, with Neon Trees along as special guest. Showtime is 7:30 PM, and tickets start at $53.
About the Goo Goo Dolls
Buffalo doesn’t produce many bands with four decades of staying power, but the Goo Goo Dolls are the exception. Co-founders John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar) and Robby Takac (bass, vocals) have been at it since the mid-1980s, and the catalog has an uncanny way of finding new listeners. “Iris” — written for the 1998 film City of Angels and later landing on Dizzy Up the Girl — was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2024, marking more than ten million units and over two billion Spotify streams. That’s the kind of song that resets a band’s reach every few years.
Live, the appeal is the back catalog. Across hits like “Name,” “Slide,” “Better Days,” and “Black Balloon,” a Goo Goo Dolls set covers a lot of ground, and Rzeznik remains a sharp, generous frontman. This 2026 run pairs them with Neon Trees, the Utah pop-rock outfit best known for “Animal” and “Everybody Talks” — a genuinely well-matched undercard that gives the night two sets worth showing up early for.
The Venue
The Pavilion at Montage Mountain is a full outdoor amphitheater tucked into the Montage Mountain resort complex in Scranton — roughly 7,000 covered pavilion seats plus an expansive lawn that holds another 10,500, for a total capacity around 18,000. The permanent venue opened in 2000 and has been northeastern Pennsylvania’s go-to shed for arena-scale touring acts ever since. For an early-September night under the pavilion roof, with the lawn rolling up the hillside behind you, it’s exactly the kind of room a band with this many singalongs should be playing.
Tickets & Pricing
Tickets start at $53. Showtime is 7:30 PM on Saturday, September 5, 2026. Grab your seats through Ticketmaster before the good spots are gone.