Pearl Jam announce new album Gigaton and US tour dates

Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam (Image credit: Danny Clinch)

Pearl Jam have announced the release of their 11th studio album. Gigaton will launch on Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records on March 27, and is the follow-up to 2013's Lightning Bolt.

Guitarist Mike McCready says: "Making this record was a long journey. It was emotionally dark and confusing at times, but also an exciting and experimental road map to musical redemption. Collaborating with my bandmates on Gigaton ultimately gave me greater love, awareness and knowledge of the need for human connection in these times." 

In May 2018 bassist Jeff Ament revealed the band were working on ideas for a new album, telling radio station WNCR, "We've been telling ourselves that we weren't going to put a ton of pressure on the situation. We really want to make something great, and we want to have the freedom to live with some of these ideas for a while and then maybe record them in a different way.”

Gigaton’s cover artwork features a photo of the Nordaustlandet ice cap on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, located 600 miles from the North Pole. The photo was taken by National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen. 

The album is available to pre-order now, alongside a 7-inch single, Dance Of The Clairvoyants, which will be released in the coming weeks. 

Pearl Jam have already announced a European tour for the summer, including a headline spot at the prestigious Hyde Park BST event in London in July, and today confirmed a series of US dates for the spring. Full schedule below.

Last week the band hinted that something was coming in a series of cryptic social media posts, then launched an interactive poster campaign in 11 cities around the world. 

Pearl Jam: Gigatron

(Image credit: Monkeywrench Records/Republic Records)

Pearl Jam 2020 tour dates
Mar 18: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON
Mar 20: Ottowa Canadian Tire Centre, ON
Mar 22: Quebec City Videotron Centre, QC
Mar 24: Hamilton FirstOntario Centre, ON
Mar 28: Baltimore Royal Farms Arena, MD
Mar 30: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Apr 02: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TN
Apr 04: St. Louis Enterprise Centre, MO
Apr 06: Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Arena, OK
Apr 09: Denver Pepsi Centre, CO
Apr 11: Phoenix Gila River Arena, AZ
Apr 13: San Diego Viejas Arena, CA
Apr 15: Los Angeles Forum, CA
Apr 16: Los Angeles Forum, CA
Apr 18: Oakland Arena, CA
Apr 19: Oakland Arena, CA
Jun 23: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Jun 25: Berlin Walduhne, Germany
Jun 27: Stockholm Lollapalooza Stockholm, Sweden
Jun 29: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Jul 02: Werchter Rock Werchter Festival, Belgium
Jul 05: Imola Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino, Italy
Jul 07: Vienna Stadhalle, Austria
Jul 10: London, BST Hyde Park, UK
Jul 13: Krakow Tauron Arena, Poland
Jul 15: Budapest Arena, Hungary
Jul 17: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Jul 19: Paris Lollapalooza Paris, France
Jul 22: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Jul 23: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.