Concert Review: GHOST at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT

Review by John Moore and Mark Kurtzner

Photos by Mark Kurtzner

On January 28, 2026, Swedish heavy-meets-pop-meets-Satan rockers Ghost brought the ‘Skeletour’ to the Mohegan Sun Arena on an icy winter night.  The Swedes are doing something different for this tour – no cellphones allowed, attendees were required to stow away cell phones in venue-provided Yondr pouches, with the aim of enhancing the live experience and engaging the crowd.  I really liked the “NO” cellphone policy, heck when I started going to concerts in the 80’s we didn’t have them + as a photographer it was nice to not have cell phone screens in my pictures.  I would like to see more fans follow this policy especially during the concert.

Thankful that this show was able to happen, as the Northeastern part of the US has been plagued by a lot of tough winter weather - "Late last week GHOST canceled three shows on the 2026 North American leg of "Skeletour" — January 24 in Knoxville, January 25 in Charlotte and January 26 in Greenville — due to the state of emergency issued in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee."

I’ve been a pretty longtime fan, I liked them the 1st time I heard them, their songs were super catchy and very enjoyable plus they brought a different musical sound then I usually didn’t always listen to.  I’ve seen them 4 times before - twice in 2017, then in 2018 and 2019 but it’s been a while since and well this show definitely was worth the wait! 

Mohegan Sun Arena is a very good venue for an arena show – 10,000 capacity, but a fairly compact room for a venue of this size, with good sightlines for those in the cheaper seats.  At this show which looked to me as it was very close to being sold out.  Upon arrival at the casino, Ghost fans were everywhere, many were all decked out, very cool that the band has such a following.  The band even had some special VIP options - like a memorable museum tour & fan zone, early access, special laminate and other privileges - the fans definitely looked to be very excited.  

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Ghost hit the stage at 8:10 pm on a pretty large stage set that easily accommodated the 9 band members, enhanced by the band logo and digital stained-glass windows and lots of fog, lights, explosions, fire and multiple background displays.  Ghost mainman Tobias Forge was, of course, the focus, this tour’s costume being a metallic mask and resplendent in black satin, but he also changed into different capes and crowns, with the Nameless Ghouls this year a cabal of top-hatted, jeweled skeletal musicians.

The new record is Skeleta, and the show started with a couple of tunes from that one (“Peacefield” and “Lachryma”), but the band did not push the new album overmuch, with only four songs aired, including the blasphemous, heretical first single “Satanized”.

Otherwise, the setlist stuck to the hits and the heavier Ghost material, with no less than six songs from the excellent 2015 release Melora, including the always memorable and pounding “Cirice”, and the hammering “Mummy Dust” near the end of the set.  Laudably, some older, not-necessarily-hit-single setlist regulars remain, like the hefty earworm ”Satan Prayer”, and old standards “Year Zero”, (which was definitely one of my favorite parts) and the regular set-closing “Monstrance Clock”.  Other highlights included a rousing “He Is” and Prequelle-era headbanger “Rats”.

Three songs for the encore: surprise hit single “Mary on a Cross” began it, with Prequelle’s metal-meets-Abba hit “Dance Macabre” next, and the excellent “Square Hammer” – the signature Ghost song, if there is one – finishing off a great night of theatrical, Luciferian pop-metal mastery.  

The packed crowd definitely got their money's worth, every fan was standing and almost all were singing along for the entire 2 hour - 22 song set!   

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The setlist was:

Peacefield

Lachryma

Spirit

Per Aspera ad Inferi

Faith

Call Me Little Sunshine

The Future Is a Foreign Land

Devil Church

Cirice

Darkness at the Heart of My Love

Satanized

Satan Prayer

Umbra

Year Zero

He Is

Rats

Kiss the Go-Goat

Mummy Dust

Monstrance Clock

Encore:

Mary on a Cross

Dance Macabre

Square Hammer