Pearl Jam will make up its 2020 North American tour dates postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2022, with specific details to be announced early next year.
“For nearly two years, the band has wanted nothing more than to play their new music live for you,” the group said in a statement. “The whole Pearl Jam team shares your excitement for us all to be safely on the road again together.”
The 2020 run was timed to the release of Pearl Jam’s 11th studio album, “Gigaton,” and was planned to begin in March of that year. Rehearsals had already taken place and production trucks were en route to the opening date when the pandemic quickly worsened, necessitating the postponement.
The 2022 North American shows will be followed by a European tour beginning June 14 in Amsterdam. Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will also release a new solo album, “Earthling,” early next year.
After a three-year hiatus, Pearl Jam finally debuted the “Gigaton” material during September festival appearances at Sea.Hear.Now in Asbury Park, N.J., and Ohana in Dana Point, Calif. and also welcomed a new touring member into the fold: guitarist/backing singer Josh Klinghoffer, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The group will also perform Thursday (Nov. 18) during the virtual fundraiser Venture Into Cures, which will raise money and awareness for the genetic skin disorder Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
The group opened the 20-song Sea.Hear.Now set with three “Gigaton” songs in a row: “Dance of the Clairvoyants,” “Quick Escape” and “Seven O’Clock.” Klinghoffer’s presence was quickly felt, as he contributed guitar and backing vocals throughout. The best of the rest was “Never Destination,” a spritely rocker that served as a great segue into the classic “Even Flow.” Drummer Matt Cameron’s “Take the Long Way” and the surging, Vedder-penned “Superblood Wolfmoon” were also played for the first time.