Sophia Michaels
Pearl Jam have postponed all their upcoming Gigaton U.S. tour dates because of the ongoing spread of the coronavirus.
The tour was supposed to kick off March 18th at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and wrap up April 19th at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California, but it will now take place at some indeterminate point in the future.
“We’ve worked hard with all our management and business associates to find other solutions or options but the levels of risk to our audience and their communities is simply too high for our comfort level,” they wrote in a statement. “Add to that we also have a unique group of passionate fans who travel far and wide. We’ve always been humbled by this and respect their energies and devotion. However in this case, travel is something to avoid.”
“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,” they continued. “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.”
As of now, their European dates in the summer are on the books, but it’s quite possible those will eventually be postponed as well.
“Again, here in Seattle what we are witnessing we would not wish for anyone,” the band wrote. “What we do wish for the rest of the country is that they can avoid the harsh negative effects of this and retain their sense of community and take care of one another. Just as we look forward to our next concerts and the ability to gather together and play loud songs as energized as ever. We are so sorry… And deeply upset… If anyone out there feels the same based on this news, we share that emotion with you.”
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