Pearl Jam have postponed the spring leg of their upcoming North American tour due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The veteran alt-rock outfit made the announcement on social media Monday night, pointing to concerns over COVID-19 as the reason for scrapping their stateside itinerary. “So we are being told that being part of large gatherings is high on the list of things to avoid as this global health crisis is now beginning to affect all of our lives,” the group wrote. “Unfortunately, communing in large groups is a huge part of what we do as a band and the tour… We have and will always keep the safety and well-being of our supporters as top priority.”
Pearl Jam continued, saying, “So it is with deep frustration and regret that we are forced to make this most unfortunate of announcements… This scheduled first leg of our PJ/Gigaton tour will need to be postponed and shows rescheduled for a later date.”
Elsewhere in their statement, Pearl Jam took a jab at the Trump administration’s handling — or perhaps mishandling — of the epidemic so far. “It certainly hasn’t helped that there’s been no clear messages from our government regarding people’s safety and our ability to go to work,” the band noted. “Having no examples of our national health department’s ability to get ahead of this, we have no reason to believe that it will be under control in the coming weeks ahead.”
The spring leg of Pearl Jam’s Gigaton tour — one of our most anticipated of 2020 — was expected to launch March 18th and run through April 19th. Pearl Jam’s s scheduled European dates, which begin in late June, don’t appear to be impacted as of yet. Additionally, today Pearl Jam confirmed two fall festival appearances in the US, including at Eddie Vedder’s own Ohana Festival. Buy tickets to the rest of the group’s shows by heading here.
Pearl Jam’s new album Gigaton officially hits shelves March 27th. Two days prior, the band will stream the LP in full during exclusive listening parties around the world.
This tour is just one of many live events to be axed because of the coronavirus scare. For a full list of canceled events, such as South By Southwest, head here. As of Monday, at least 26 Americans have died because of the virus, while the entire country of Italy — where more than 9,000 people have tested positive for the contagion — has been shut down.
Pearl Jam 2020 Tour Dates:
03/18 – Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
03/20 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
03/22 – Quebec City, QC @ Videotron Centre
03/24 – Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
03/28 – Baltimore, MD @ Royal Farms Arena
03/30 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
04/02 – Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
04/04 – St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
04/06 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
04/09 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
04/11 – Phoenix, AZ @ Gila River Arena
04/13 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
04/15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
04/16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum
04/18 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
04/19 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
06/23 – Frankfurt, DE @ Festhalle ^
06/25 – Berlin, DE @ Waldbühne ^
06/27 – Stockholm, SE @ Lollapalooza Stockholm
06/29 – Copehagen, DK @ Royal Arena ^
07/02 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/05 – Imola, IT @ Autodromo Internazionale *
07/07 – Vienna, AT @ Wiener Stadthalle #
07/10 – London, UK @ BST Hyde Park *#
07/13 – Krakow, PL @ Tauron Arena #
07/15 – Budapest, HU @ Budapest Arena #
07/17 – Zurich, CH @ Hallenstadion #
07/19 – Paris, FR @ Lollapalooza Paris
07/22 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome #
07/23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Ziggo Dome #
09/19-20 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Sea.Hear.Now. Festival
09/27 – Dana Point, CA @ Ohana Music Festival
^ = w/ IDLES
* = w/ Pixies
# = w/ White Reaper
Pearl Jam Postpone Tour Over Coronavirus Concerns
Lake Schatz
