"I'm so grateful to have seen NIN live eight times this tour. It’s an experience I’ll carry with me forever.

My boyfriend introduced me to their music when we first started dating, and it truly changed my life. Their songs helped me through a long, difficult battle with myself and my creative block. This tour especially opened my eyes to a whole new world.

We traveled thousands of miles, waited in lines through sleepless nights, and met so many kind people along the way. Being in the pit, shooting photos amid the push and shove, capturing raw moments of catharsis and music history, reminded me why I love this so much. The 2025 tour inspired some of my best work yet.

I was deeply moved by fans gifting each other keepsakes, so I decided to give back in my own small way—offering limited signed and numbered mystery photo prints before each show I attended. Seeing the smiles and joy it brought meant everything to me.

I’m especially thankful to Kraw and nindiscordance for believing in me, trusting me to capture moments of the show in Vegas and Sacramento, and welcoming me into this community. That opportunity has pushed me to be a better artist and gave me so much hope.

I also want to thank my dear friend Star from @ninternet.inc. She supported me when no one else did, helped me organize a giveaway, and works so hard to create a safe, informed space for all of us.

This tour gave me hope, healed parts of me I didn’t know needed healing, and reminded me to keep creating. I’m so lucky to have shared it all with the love of my life.

Thank you, NIN and this incredible community, from the bottom of my heart. 🖤 @fotosbysavy"

"I’ve been listening to Nine Inch Nails for as long as I can remember, but I truly connected with the music after my brother passed when I was six. It was a very dark time when everything at home felt unstable, NIN became my escape and emotional outlet.

My first show was July 19, 2008 at The Forum with my dad, and I still remember how overwhelming it felt in the best way. Seeing the lights, the crowd, hearing everything live, it changed me. From that point on, NIN wasn’t just music, it was something me and my dad bonded over, especially songs that meant a lot to me like, 'We’re In This Together' that we used to scream together.

After my dad passed on March 9, 2022, that connection only got deeper. Songs like 'Somewhat Damaged' started to hit in a completely different way, it felt like everything I couldn’t say was already written for me. That’s why I go to these shows, because it’s something we would’ve kept doing together.

This tour was the first time I ever traveled out of state to follow the band, going from San Diego to Arizona, Vegas, LA, and Sacramento, bringing me to 13 shows total. What stood out the most was the people I met along the way. So many genuine fans who turned into real friends, from sharing our personal life experiences to enjoying shows together back to back made everything feel more meaningful and not alone.

Ending in Sacramento felt like a full-circle moment. We got invited to attend their last show of the tour, shoot photos for them, and i was finally able to experience 'Burn' while moshing in the pit. All of which i’m incredibly grateful for that opportunity and for everyone I met along the way."

“Thursday October 9th, 2025:

The professor drones on and on about analog filters. Something about poles, zeroes, and the complex plane; I wasn’t listening. Rather, my unfiltered thoughts of some sort of natural disaster striking the building were bouncing around my brain. Anything would be more interesting to me at this moment.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Finally, an excuse to not pay attention.

Message from Star, 'I know Mondays are probably your busiest days, but I just found amazing deals for pit tickets. They're only $200, and base price was $165.'

I open my bank account, and it’s abysmal. I’m not a huge concert person anyway, and I’m not as much of a die-hard Nine Inch Nails fan. I make up some excuse.

'Well, that would be a new semester, so not sure how that would go.'

It doesn’t work.

'You don't owe me, consider it a present.'

Well damn, they got me. I guess I’ll go; who can be mad at a free show? Plus, I enjoy some of their songs. Screw it. I mentally prepare myself to get cooked under the hot sun for hours.

Wednesday, February 15, 2026:

Another text from Star, 'What are you wearing to NIN?'

I let out an audible sigh. The show is two weeks away; who the hell cares anyway? It’s a concert for a band from the 90s. I’m sure a t-shirt and jeans would suffice.

I shoot back, 'It’s not that serious.'

Sunday, March 8, 2026:

I drove Star and I for 3 hours down to San Diego. The traffic could have been worse, but it also could have been better. On the way, they tell me about a plan they and other fans devised to save me a spot in line without my being there, as I have a back injury, I’m driving us back home after the show, and I have a lot of studying to catch up on for my midterms. Any time I can find to lie down and study would do me wonders.

Monday, March 9, 2026:

Morning rolls around, and I wake up to find that Star has already left. In fact, they left around 4:30 in the morning, while I dozed off until 9:00. I got ready and checked out of the room, leaving for the concert with nothing but some AirPods, my stack of example problems, a pencil, and some beef jerky.

I finally get to the line, and am greeted by all of these ride-or-die Nine Inch Nails fans. At first, I felt very out of place. But the kindness that was shown to me by everyone made me feel better.

After a half hour or so, I guess it was obvious my back was killing me, as one of Star’s friends offered me a seat in their car close by. Thank you, Star’s friend.

I spent a few hours going through this packet. So many equations and elements are occupying my mind, I forgot the entire reason I was there in the first place. I’m reminded of that fact by another text from Star telling me to line back up as we might move soon.

I was hoping this show was worth it because my pain, impatience, and desire for comfort were all eating away at me.

Soon, the line starts to move, and we make our way through the various security checkpoints. Security yells at everyone to walk, resulting in a group of adults all racewalking each other for a good spot.

We make our way to the A-stage, and we secure barricade. I feel at ease, it’s always nice being front row at a show. There’s something to lean on for my back. Plus, the kind gentleman next to me offered me free stickers, some of which I placed on my laptop.

Boys Noize comes on, and the set is just a soundtrack for my anticipation of what was to come. As the set was coming to a close, I prepared myself for twenty minutes of background music until Nine Inch Nails. But that did not come.

What came instead was an immediate transition into their set. This already intrigued me and grabbed my attention almost immediately. Trent begins to sing Right Where it Belongs, which was beautiful to experience. There were no lights in the venue, except for a lone large headlight shining down on him. I was transfixed.

As Trent sings and plays on the piano, his band members slowly join him on the stage. They all come together to formally begin the show. All of this was amazing to witness, but it wasn’t until they switched to the A-stage that I knew I was witnessing possibly the best concert of my life.

The first song on the A-stage was Wish, and that’s really all I have to say. Hit after hit. Some with slight changes from the studio versions I was accustomed to hearing, which only served as compliments to the original work. The stage design was nothing I’d ever seen before. So much intention and thought were placed behind the show, and I really felt that as I danced, sang, and cheered. It’s the one thing that clicked for me after the show.

Every piece of Nine Inch Nails media and merchandise I consumed was intentional, down to the last snare sound and last stitching on a t-shirt.

During the show, I felt myself reverting back to my primal instincts. I was incapable of forming any intelligent thought. My reptilian brain was saying to me,

'Shout…shout...Headbang…headbang…'

I had never felt so drained after a show. It was as if Trent Reznor picked me up and wrung me out like a wet dish towel.

From the coming days, all I could think about was the beauty of it all, and how I longed to re-experience it. Now that I have attended a show, I finally understand the passion behind the unique culture developed by Nine Inch Nails and their fans. The fans expect perfection, and they receive it; Nine Inch Nails has set the bar high. Every second of that show is calculated perfection, nothing less.

Guys, I get it.

I want to formally thank my sibling, Star, for taking me to one of the best shows I have seen and probably will see, Nine Inch Nails, for putting said show on, and the fans in line, who extended extraordinary kindness to me.

You will all haunt my daydreams.”

“Like so many other NIИ fans, finding this band coincided with me finding myself in my youth. I was 16 years old when I found lyrics to Mr. Self Destruct on a blog. The words resonated with a part of me that I was both eager and afraid to confront. Ultimately, I wouldn’t have learned to embrace myself without Trent’s work and willingness to be vulnerable with the world.

When NIИ toured in 2022, my boyfriend surprised me with tickets and I experienced the show that changed my life, as corny as it may be to say that. At Primavera Sound in LA on 9.17.22, I had my photo taken by Kraw and I took home a setlist as well as one of Alessandro’s picks. This led to me interacting with the NIИ community for the first time and meeting someone who would become not just one of my dearest friends, but my ultimate concert companion.

When the Peel It Back tour came around, I got to experience being barricade for my favorite band of all time not once more but twice more - A stage in LA on 9.18.25 and B stage in San Diego on 3.9.26. At the first show, I got to hear the song that started it all for me, Mr. Self Destruct, and I even caught a water bottle that Robin threw into the crowd!! With my boyfriend and my dearest concert companion on either side of me, I truly felt like everything was Right Where It Belongs.

The B stage experience in San Diego the next year was just as unforgettable. Watching Trent play piano was a dream come true as a pianist who has looked up to him for years. Getting to admire the light production that I couldn’t see during my time at A stage during the last leg was also really special. The one song I really missed not being at B stage for at the LA date was Vessel and to my delight it got played again in San Diego.

There was a time when seeing NIИ live was an unattainable dream for me.. and now I enjoy a rich collection of memories of NIИ shows, bracelets exchanged at shows, concert merch and memorabilia, photos taken with my fellow piggies and so many new and fulfilling friendships that I never would’ve found if it wasn’t for the NIИ community. I can’t find the words to express the depth of my gratitude so… thank you will have to suffice <3”

"This was my first NIN nails show despite being a fan since Pretty Hate Machine was released. It was truly one of the most incredible concerts I’ve ever seen and I have seen a lot in my lifetime. During the stressful times we are facing in the U.S. what a gift it was to be immersed into something so beautiful, if only for a night. Thank you NIN ⚡️⚡️⚡️"

"The first time I heard NIN, I was 15. Now I'm almost 48. It was an era in my life full of angst, of trying to figure out who I was, clashing against who my parents wanted me to be—a beautiful time really, but also very isolating. I bought every underground CD I could. Plastered posters, magazine articles all over my walls, and loved everything Trent recorded. Not just 'Closer,' which was the song everyone loved, but didn't really know anything else.

I went to the San Diego show, and after all of these years, I finally got to see them live; a bucket-list concert for sure.

I didn't take anything physical home, but the memory of this show will be with me forever."

"I didn’t go to this show just to hear music. I went because I needed somewhere to put everything I don’t say out loud.

Nine Inch Nails has always lived in the parts of me I keep hidden, the anger, the loneliness, the questions that don’t really have answers to. Hearing it live felt like those parts finally had a voice. Loud enough to drown everything else out.

There was a moment where the sound, the lights, the weight of it all just hit me at once and I stopped trying to hold myself together. Not in a dramatic way, just in a quiet surrender. Like I didn’t have to be strong for a little while.

Looking around, it didn’t feel like a crowd. It felt like a room full of people who understood something unspoken. Different lives, different stories, but somehow the same ache underneath it all. That kind of connection is rare and you can’t fake it.

I’ve listened to these songs in my lowest moments, alone in my car, late at night, trying to make sense of things. Hearing them live felt like closure in a way I didn’t expect. Not everything is fixed, but it doesn’t feel as heavy.

I walked in carrying more than I realized. I walked out lighter.

That’s what this show was for me.”

"These were my first shows since 2018. NIN has been my favorite band since 1999 and their shows are incredible! Every time I've seen NIN, their production gets better and better. My husband and live in San Diego so we travelled at least 2 hours away for all of the shows except one. For the 2025 shows, we were in seats but for the 2026 shows we made sure we were in the pit. Hanging out in line with other fans is special. They look out for each other, they bring snacks and sunscreen. They also honor the line order. I absolutely loved 2025's Came Back Haunted and 2026's Parasite. My favorite songs of the tour. I hope to see NIN soon! It's a cathartic experience that I think we all need."

“My favorite song from this tour was in between Reptile and the Perfect Drug. The setlis was awesome. There's always songs you want to hear live, you say 'I hope they play this song or that song' but the experience of listening and rocking to songs you wouldn't expect the band play its an amazing feeling. I travel with a high school friend. We reminisced old times all the way and was a lot of fun. Between remembering old times and the concert itself was a truly amazing experience."