Against Me! officially welcome back bassist Andrew Seward

Laura Jane Grace confirmed today that longtime Against Me! bassist Andrew Seward has rejoined the band. Seward played with the group until 2013, and he reappeared onstage with the band at a few recent gigs, as reported by Punknews.org.

Read more: Weezer’s “Africa” cover gets limited vinyl release

Citing a “period of great change” for both herself and the band, Grace said she doesn’t “know how to succinctly explain the reasons behind” Seward rejoining the band after five years away. Read LJG’s full announcement via Instagram below.

Against Me!’s 2016 album, Shape Shift With Me, featured Swedish musician Inge Johansson on bass, and he toured with the band following its release. Seward last played on 2010’s White Crosses — he was replaced by Johansson in 2013.

Accordingly, Grace stated on Monday that she’s “forever thankful for our time playing together” with Johansson, and she wished the bassist “nothing but the best in life.” See Against Me!’s upcoming tour dates down after the announcement.

As some people may have noticed there’s been some change happening within @againstme recently and the shows we played in Detroit, Cleveland and Lansing a week ago were Andrew’s first shows back with the band in over 5 years. I don’t really know how to succinctly explain the reasons behind this happening so I’m going to pass on trying. All I want to say is that I love Inge, am forever thankful for our time playing together and what I learned from it and wish him nothing but the best in life. Been going through a period of great change in general lately and this is probably not the last time this year I’m going to have to ask that people be understanding of a choice made, there’s no maliciousness behind my intentions, I just gotta go after what I want. We head back out on tour again last week of July and 1st week of August. Dates in my bio! Photo by @joeleonard

A post shared by Laura Jane Grace (@laurajanegrace) on Jul 2, 2018 at 9:47am PDT

Against Me! tour dates

07/26 – Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barnstormers
07/27 – Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park Festival
07/28 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
07/29 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
07/31 – Toledo, OH @ Civic Music Hall
08/01 – Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
08/02 – Morgantown, WV @ 123 Pleasant St.
08/03 – Brooklyn, NY @ House of Vans
08/04 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stoked For The Summer
08/05 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
08/07 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
08/08 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
08/09 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall
08/13 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Sala Corona
08/15 – Santiago, Chile @ Espacio San Diego
08/17 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Uniclub
08/19 – Curitiba, Brazil @ Joker Pub Café
08/20 – Sáo Paulo, Brazil @ Carioca Club
08/21 – Natal, Brazil @ Ribeira

Watch more: 10 songs to get you hyped for Warped Tour