Almost three months after the announcement of the European tour by www.pearljam.com, after two months of incessant and contradicting rumors swirling all over the Internet, on Italian radio stations and newspapers, today it has finally been announced that Pearl Jam will play in Italy on July 6, 2010, within the Heineken Jammin' Festival, which will be held in Mestre (Venice).

Official word came via a press conference that was held this morning at Punta San Giuliano, in the area close to the Venice Lagoon, where the festival will take place. For more information about the show, we invite you to check out the Pearl Jam in Italy section on our site.

Pearl Jam @ Saturday Night Live ~ Pearl Jam is scheduled to appear as the musical guest for the March 13th episode of 'Saturday Night Live'. The band will perform songs from "Backspacer".

2010 Euro tour openers ~ The opening acts for Pearl Jam's summer European tour have been revealed: Ben Harper with his new band, the Relentless 7, will open Dublin, Belfast and Berlin shows. The Hard Rock Calling gig in London will include, in addition to Ben Harper & Relentless 7, the (great) Gaslight Anthem, Wolfmother and the Hives. All the other Pearl Jam Euro dates will be within festivals, so we suggest you to check out the dedicated websites for more details one the various line-ups.

Brad new record ~ A new album by Brad, Stone Gossard's longtime side project, is about to be released via Monkeywrench (Pearl Jam's own label). The record, which has been ready for a few years now, consists of 12 tracks. The band will present the new songs at a show that will take place on April 14 at the Showbox in Seattle. Here's the tracklist of "Best Friends?":

1. Price of Love
2. Without Regret
3. Rush Hour
4. Believe in Yourself
5. Every Whisper
6. One Love Remaining
7. Low
8. Oh My Goodness
9. Luxury Car
10. Bless Me Father
11. Holiday
12. Runnin' For Cover (Mp3: Free Download Now!)

Letters from Ed Vedder ~ Howard Zinn, one of the most important American historians and a friend of Vedder for years, passed away on January 27. Ed wrote a heartfelt letter in his memory, which was published on the band's official website and is available here. Vedder has also recently sent a letter (you can read it by clicking on the right) to spinner.com - an American music portal - inviting people to listen to the Pierced Arrows, an American garage punk band consisting of the former members of Dead Moon (one of Vedder's favorite bands).

Mike McCready & Friends next shows ~ On February 28, 2010 at the Showbox in Seattle there will be a show, "A Hootenanny For Haiti", commissioned by Pearl Jam's guitarist Mike McCready to raise money to help Partners in Health, which was among the first emergency medical responders to provide relief following the devastating January 12th earthquake. Duff McKagan (Guns N 'Roses, Velvet Revolver), Kristen Ward, Kim Virant, Kim Warnick and Matt Cameron wil perform together in an intimate setting to support the Haiti relief efforts of Partners in Health. A possible appearance of Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder at the event is also rumored. On April 23, always at the Showbox in Seattle, Flight To Mars (Mike McCready's tribute to the 80's rock band UFO) will perform at the annual CCFA benefit.

Ed Vedder for Haiti ~ Eddie Vedder’s full audio performance of Bruce Springsteen’s “My City Of Ruins” from the recent Kennedy Center Honors is now available for purchase through Ten Club and iTunes for $ 0,99. Proceeds from the sale of the track benefit Artists for Peace and Justice [Haiti Relief]. According to this note published on PJ's official website, between band and management personal donations plus contributions from Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation, $200,000 to date has been pledged to the various Haiti relief organizations. UPDATE: Ben Harper has joined in Eddie Vedder's previously announced Haiti relief single efforts. Harper's full version of “My Father's House” from from the recent Kennedy Center Honors is now available alongside Eddie's full audio performance of Bruce Springsteen's “My City Of Ruins” from the same event. The digital album of both songs is available for purchase through  iTunes and  Amazon mp3  for $1.98 (or $.99/track).

Matt Cameron featured on new Peter Frampton album ~ Peter Frampton's new record ("Thank You Mr. Churchill") will be released on April 27, 2010. It will feature various special guests including Pearl Jam drummer, Matt Cameron.

Dave Abbruzzese back in Italy ~ An old acquaintance of Pearl Jam fans, Dave Abbruzzese, will be back in Italy next February. Pearl Jam's former drummer will tour with the I.M.F.'s, whose line-up include Bernard Fowler, Stevie Salas (both known for playing with the Rolling Stones) and TM Stevens. These are the dates scheduled in Italy:

02/10/2010 Zion Club, Conegliano Veneto (TV)
02/11/2010 Lapsus, Torino (TO)
02/12/2010 Sugar Reef, Arezzo (AR)
02/13/2010 Kememeo, Argelato (BO)
02/14/2010 Rock'N'Roll, Milano (MI)

For all the news about the tour and the band please visit the Italian fansite dedicated to Dave Abbruzzese, at this link.

Pearl Jam in Udine on July 6, 2010? ~ Although almost every Italian mass media and news outlet (from Rockol to radio stations and local newspapers) has recently started reporting as a fact that Pearl Jam will perform on July 6, 2010 at Stadio Friuli in Udine (Italy), we want to inform you that nothing is official because nothing has been confirmed by Pearl Jam's official site or management. We opened a topic on our forum (link) and we created a page (available here - italian only) to collect the most interesting rumors about this hypothetical date In Italy. We await official confirmation or denial as soon as possible.

Pearl Jam working on new material ~ Stone Gossard, recently interviewed by Henrik Tuxen (link) has revealed that the band is currently in studio in Seattle working on new material. The tracks may be part of the EP mentioned by Mike McCready a few months ago and that could be published in a relatively short time. McCready, during an interview with Planet Rock (an English radio), has revealed that these new songs could debut at the Hard Rock Calling in London, during Pearl Jam's appearance on June 25, 2010. Yesterday it has been confirmed that this show will be opened by Wolfmother (a promising Australian rock band) and other artists that are still to be defined.

Pearl Jam to play in China on April 17, 2010? ~ According to a rumor, Pearl Jam may have been contacted by the organizers of a free concert scheduled for April 17 (to mark this year’s 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which is celebrated each year to promote awareness of environmental issues), that will be held in Beijing, China. Artists like Aerosmith and Jimmy Page have already confirmed their presence while it is still unclear whether the Seattle band will perform at the event. Details to follow soon.

Pearl Jam offers a free live version of "Just Breathe" ~ By registering your Twitter account on the site http://justbreathe.pearljam.com, you can download a free live version of "Just Breathe" taken from their performance at the Austin City Limits. Participants are also eligible to win a limited-edition, white vinyl version of Backspacer (only 15 available).

Greetings from Ed Vedder ~ Remember the book "Pearl Jam Evolution" (written by the webmasters of this site), that we were talking about a few months ago? Well, a couple of days ago, we got a special dedication straight from Seattle by a very special person... click here to discover it!