Pearl Jam Cancel Last Two Spring Tour Dates After Internal COVID Cases

And just like that, Pearl Jam’s spring 2022 tour is over. The band announced its final two shows were cancelled after a second band member tested positive for COVID, wiping out stops in Sacramento and Las Vegas.

Prior to the cancellation of the final two stops this spring, the group had strung together a last-minute replacement drummer for a show in Oakland after Matt Cameron tested positive for the virusm then then got original drummer Dave Krusen to play with them in Fresno. However, they opted to call things off entirely after bassist Jeff Ament also tested positive. “This is horrible for everybody involved,” the band said in a statement posted on its website and social media. “We are especially sorry to those out there who have made plans to attend these shows.”

(1/4)Dear PJ fans and ticket holders,

While the band battled through Oakland after drummer Matt Cameron tested positive for Covid, and Fresno where Ed and the band got through it with the help of Dave Krusen as special guest drummer, pic.twitter.com/pmonPs99wq

— Pearl Jam 🇺🇦 (@PearlJam) May 18, 2022

TFL and ATBS for ticketing professionals

The news came just hours before the group was scheduled to take the stage in Sacramento, and two days before the Las Vegas date. The band is off until its European leg of the tour kicks off in June, and won’t play in North America again until the fall, when it has 11 additional dates in Canada and the U.S.

Pearl Jam’s reasoning for cancelling rather than rescheduling the two remaining shows was not given. But it is at least possible that the logistical nightmare that would entail a rescheduled show when the band has taken an aggressive stance against ticket transfer or resale rights on recent tours played a role. On the 2022 tour, Pearl Jam has opted to use Ticketmaster’s “safe-tix” mobile-only ticketing system to block their fans from being able to transfer or resell tickets to their concerts entirely. The only two shows exempted from this restriction are in New York and Colorado – states which require consumer choice in ticketing format, rendering the “safetix” block of consumer tickets rights illegal.

Should the two shows wiped out this week have been rescheduled, it would have likely resulted in enormous fan complaints about their inability to transfer or resell their seats if they couldn’t make the new event dates, particularly in light of the fact that the band itself charged enormous surged prices for many of the tickets on this tour, labeled as “PJ Premium” tickets at initial sale.

Instead, those who purchased tickets for Sacramento and Las Vegas now have freer calendars than expected this week, and will be refunded. If they want to try to catch a show in the fall, they’ll have 10 shows they can try to make, though none closer than Denver.

Pearl Jam North America 2022 Tour Dates

Pearl Jam Cancel Last Two Spring Tour Dates After Internal COVID Cases

Pearl Jam Ticket Links

Pearl Jam North America 2022 Tour Dates