Fan Network: Eddie Vedder Solo 2011 Australia Tour

Pearl Jam’s notoriously anti-corporate rock frontman, Eddie Vedder, will be paying a visit to Australia in March 2011 for a string of extraordinarily special theatre shows; live, solo and intimate.

On his last visit to Australia as the front man of Pearl Jam in late 2009, the band embarked on a sold out stadium tour across the country. The huge success of the shows saw the band play to some 160,000 people, so this rare opportunity to see this compelling artist in solo mode is one not to be missed.

There have been several occasions over the years where Vedder has stepped into solo mode, including his soundtrack contributions to the films of friend Sean Penn on Dead Man Walking (1995) and I Am Sam (2001). This collaboration most notably came to fruition in 2007 when Penn engaged Vedder to write and record the full soundtrack for his film adaptation of Into The Wild – John Krakauer’s best selling novel of the same name. The story of Into The Wild is one of alienation and distancing and the self-discovery that can be found only in wandering and escape and solitude; themes ever present in Pearl Jam’s music, and likewise in Vedder’s solo work. On having to write songs based on a narrative, he said it “simplified things” and that “There were fewer choices. The story was there and the scenes were there.”

Vedder won a swag of awards and critical acclaim for the soundtrack, including a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song ‘Guaranteed.’ He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his contributions to the film’s original score. Furthermore in 2008, ‘Guaranteed’ received a Grammy nomination and in 2009 ‘Rise’ received a nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance.

After the release of the Into The Wild soundtrack, Vedder embarked on a solo tour across North America over the latter part of 2008 and early 2009 – the tour was a sell-out success across the board and further cemented his claim as a bona fide solo artist in his own right.

Vedder will be joined for the full tour by the luminous US-based folk-pop outfit Evil J & Saint Cecilia; consisting of Australia’s own Eliza Jane Barnes and Ceci Herbert.

In solo mode – as Australian audiences have never seen before – he sings plaintively against a quiet, lilting strum; just him and his guitar. The effect of this is wanderlust personified.

The tour begins at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre Concert Hall in Brisbane with two shows on Thursday 10 & Saturday 12 March, then onward to our nation's capital for an appearance at Canberra's Royal Theatre on Tuesday 15 March then back north to take in Newcastle’s Civic Theatre on Wednesday 16 March. Vedder will then take the stage at Sydney’s State Theatre for two nights on Friday 18 March and Saturday 19 March, and then two more shows at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Thursday 24 March and Friday 25 March. The tour will then conclude in Adelaide at the Thebarton Theatre on Sunday 27 March.