While work continues on its 12th studio album, Pearl Jam is returning to the road this fall. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will play two-night stands in St. Paul, Mn. (Aug. 31, Sept. 2), Chicago (Sept. 5, 7), Fort Worth, Tx. (Sept. 13, 15), and Austin, Tx. (Sept. 18-19), as well as a single show in the Indianapolis suburbs (Sept. 10).
Inhaler, a band led by Bono’s 23-year-old son Elijah Hewson, will open the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Austin shows, with support for the other dates to be announced.
Members of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club fan organization will have first crack at tickets through a dedicated pre-sale, while general public tickets will only be available through Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan program, registration for which opens tomorrow at 10 a.m. PT and ends April 25 at 5 p.m. PT.
For the first time, Pearl Jam is using all-in pricing for these shows, which, according to the band, “means the ticket price listed is the full out-of-pocket price inclusive of fees, so there are no surprises at check out.”
Approximately 10% of seats will be allocated to premium tickets, which the band says “are located in a variety of preferred locations” and “are priced at market rate to offset increased touring costs while also keeping prices low for the rest of the ticket inventory.” Tickets will be non-transferable for all shows except in Illinois, where this practice is prohibited by law.
As for new music, Pearl Jam has been working on and off since July 2021 with producer Andrew Watt at multiple Los Angeles-area studios. “We’re going to be working on some more music between now and the end of the year and hopefully finish a record,” guitarist Stone Gossard tells SPIN of the follow-up to 2020’s Gigaton. “That’s the plan. The little bits that I’ve heard so far that are mixed are sounding good. I’m excited. It’s going to be a rock record.”
And while Pearl Jam’s 2022 tour was sidetracked by multiple members contracting COVID-19 and frontman Eddie Vedder injuring his vocal cords in Europe, Gossard says there were still some “amazing shows” that reminded him how strong the band’s camaraderie remains after nearly 33 years together.
“It goes back to our relationships and our history,” he says. “Sometimes you don’t see eye to eye, but we’re better and better at checking that, and realizing that our connection and love for each other is what makes it special. People feel it, and we feel it. It’s not the tricks or the lights or any of that stuff. It’s the songs, and the fans’ connection to those songs. It’s so fun to keep feeling that, and we realize how blessed we are.”
As previously reported, a Pearl Jam live album planned for release in 1998 but abruptly scrapped after it had already gone into production is finally reappearing on Record Store Day (April 22). Give Way was taped March 5, 1998, in Melbourne, five shows into the band’s touring efforts in support of the just-released album Yield. It’s the first official release in many years drawn from drummer Jack Irons’ four-year tenure in Pearl Jam; he left the group for personal reasons shortly after this tour ended and was replaced by former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron.
Guitarist Mike McCready also has two releases from his side band the Rockfords coming out for Record Store Day: their 2000 self-titled debut and the 2003 Waiting EP, both on vinyl for the first time. In celebration, the group is reuniting for its first show in 10 years at Seattle’s beloved Easy Street Records on Sunday.
In related news, the final studio album from Gossard’s side project Brad, In The Moment That You’re Born, will be released this summer on Gossard’s revived Loosegroove label. It contains recordings made before vocalist Shawn Smith’s death in 2019 at the age of 53.
Here are Pearl Jam’s tour dates:
Aug. 31, Sept. 2: St. Paul, Mn. (Xcel Energy Center)
Sept. 5, 7: Chicago (United Center)
Sept. 10: Noblesville, In. (Ruoff Music Center)
Sept. 13, 15: Fort Worth, Tx. (Dickies Arena)
Sept. 18, 19: Austin, Tx. (Moody Center)
