Jawbreaker Finally Plot ‘Dear You’ 25th-Anniversary Tour Two Years Late

Jawbreaker, the brooding post-hardcore trio that redefined emo for a generation, will hit the road this spring to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their beloved fourth and final album, Dear You. They will play the entire LP on every date of the tour. Commenting on the fact that the record came out in 1995 and not ’97, the band joked in a statement, “The last two years don’t count.”

The short, 10-date tour focuses on the coasts with stops in Denver and Chicago. The group will play two-night stands in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Opening acts variously include Built to Spill, Descendents, Jawbox, Face to Face, Best Coast, Team Dresch, and the Linda Lindas, among others. Some concerts will also feature sets from standup comedians; Kyle Kinane will appear at the Seattle and Portland shows, Irene Tu will be at the Chicago gigs, and Chris Gethard will be at the New York shows. Tickets for all dates will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.

The LP ranked Number Four on IndieLand’s list of the 40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time. “From the moody darkness of ‘Jet Black’ to the upbeat pop-punk of ‘Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault,’” RS wrote, “Dear You sounds as poetic today as it did 20 years ago.”

Upon its release, the album was mired in controversy among Jawbreaker’s diehard fans since it was their major-label debut. “We took a lot of flak and it became very political, but it was never a political thing to us,” drummer Adam Pfahler told Rice and Bread Magazine in 2014. “But I also remember honestly not giving a shit. … We didn’t have people breathing down our necks and making us change anything, or suggesting what the sound was going to be like, and when we were done we thought we had made a great record and we looked at each other like, ‘Well, either they’re going to get it or they’re not going to get it.’”

Jawbreaker Tour Dates

March 18 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo *
March 19 – Portland, OR @ Roseland Theatre *
March 24 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
March 25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
April 1 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern **
April 7 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium ***
April 13 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues ****
April 14 – Chicago, IL @ House of Blues ****
April 27 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *****
April 28 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza *****

* With Jawbox and Team Dresch
** With Best Coast and the Linda Lindas
*** With Descendents and Face to Face
**** With Built to Spill and Smoking Popes
***** With the Linda Lindas and Worriers