WRIGLEY FIELD — Pearl Jam will return to Wrigley Field for two shows in August.
The rock band will play Aug. 20 and 22 at Wrigley Field as the finale to its summer tour, the band announced Tuesday. Ticket prices and sale dates will be announced soon.
Pearl Jam played at Wrigley Field in 2013, and tickets sold out faster than any other concert in the venue's history. While strong thunderstorms cut other concerts short on the July evening, Pearl Jam rocked until 2 a.m., breaking a noise curfew and leaving some neighbors quite annoyed.
At the time, the Cubs, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) and the Lake View Citizens Council gave Pearl Jam permission to resume the concert after a rain delay that lasted several hours.
"Public safety comes first. Inconvenience comes second," Tunney said at the time. He said keeping concert-goers safe during the severe weather was the top priority.
Fans, however, were thrilled with the concert, showing up a day early to snatch up the highly coveted merchandise and getting treated to new material.
It's no surprise Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder was itching to return to the Wrigley stage; the big-time Cubs fan helped the team celebrate winning the National League Division Series in October, leading a chorus of his Cubs anthem "All the Way" on Jon Lester's rooftop.
A few games later, Vedder changed up the lyrics of "Take Me Out To the Ballgame" with a desperate plea the team "Come back, come back, win the game!"
With Pearl Jam's two shows, the Wrigley Field summer concert series will end before the Chicago Public School year begins on Sept. 6.
Last September, the sold-out AC/DC concert took place on a school night, which irked parents. One called it the "loudest of any of the concerts," although the show ended at 10 p.m. after a brief burst of fireworks.
Wrigley Field's summer concert series will kick off with James Taylor and Jackson Browne June 30, followed by Pearl Jam. Billy Joel will perform Aug. 26, and country singer Luke Bryan wrapping up the series Aug. 27.
Pearl Jam's 2016 North American tour tickets off April 8 in Florida and includes shows at Bonnaroo Festival, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and two shows each at Fenway Park and Madison Square Garden.
The Cubs and Wrigley Field are 95 percent owned by a trust established for the benefit of the family of Joe Ricketts, owner and CEO of DNAinfo.com. Joe Ricketts has no direct involvement in the management of the iconic team.
