--- description: "We want America to be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love" title: Pearl Jam Cancels North Carolina Concert Over LGBT Law image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5613ef2b06830a99/69888f9b524fc01a04df79fc/pearl-jam.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pearl Jam Cancels North Carolina Concert Over LGBT Law by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 19, 2016 12:14 AM CUT  Pearl Jam performs "Rockin in the Free World" to close the 2015 Global Citizen Festival at Central Park on September 26, 2015 in New York City. Pearl Jam performs "Rockin in the Free World" to close the 2015 Global Citizen Festival at Central Park on September 26, 2015 in New York City.Taylor Hill—WireImage/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 19, 2016 12:14 AM CUT Pearl Jam has canceled a concert in North Carolina over HB2, the state law that reverses LGBT protections put in place by local ordinances. In a [statement on its website](http://pearljam.com/news/0/1/22947/pearl%5Fjam%5Fcancels%5F420%5Fraleigh%5Fnc%5Fconcert%5Fin%5Fopposition%5Fto%5Fhb2%5Fofficial%5Fband%5Fstatement "undefined"), the band explained its decision to cancel the April 20 concert in Raleigh: --- > “” --- Pearl Jam joins other musicians who’ve canceled North Carolina shows in opposition to the law, including [Bruce Springsteen](http://time.com/4287267/bruce-springsteen-concern-cancelled/ "undefined") and [Ringo Starr](http://time.com/4293460/north-carolina-springsteen-buffett-lauper-starr/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4298619/pearl-jam-north-carolina-concert/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4298619/pearl-jam-north-carolina-concert/"},"headline":"Pearl Jam Cancels North Carolina Concert Over LGBT Law","datePublished":"2016-04-19T00:14:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:50:57.426Z","description":"\"We want America to be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love or fired from their job for who they are\"","url":"https://time.com/4298619/pearl-jam-north-carolina-concert/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5613ef2b06830a99/69888f9b524fc01a04df79fc/pearl-jam.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5613ef2b06830a99/69888f9b524fc01a04df79fc/pearl-jam.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2015 Global Citizen Festival","caption":"2015 Global Citizen Festival","creditText":"Taylor Hill—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4298619/pearl-jam-north-carolina-concert/","name":"Pearl Jam Cancels North Carolina Concert Over LGBT Law"}}]}] ```