Pearl Jam Reveal New Drummer At Ohana Festival

After a handful of songs at Ohana Fest on Friday night, the “Eddie Vedder And Friends” set turned into a full-on Pearl Jam performance. (They are still scheduled to headline on Sunday.) It was the band’s first show since drummer Matt Cameron quit last summer after 27 years.

Behind the kit for Vedder’s Dana Point fest was Abe Laboriel Jr., a member of Paul McCartney’s live band since 2001. He also played on Vedder’s 2022 album Earthling and previously filled in for Chad Smith during Vedder and the Earthlings’ 2023 Ohana set. Notably, Smith filled in for Laboriel when McCartney played Saturday Night Live in May.

Vedder introduced Laboriel as “filling in,” so it was not a formal hiring announcement, but r/pearljam posters had long speculated that he’d be Cameron’s replacement.

Pearl Jam's set included covers of Dead Boys and the Who, and the first song with Laboriel on drums was “Corduroy,” the Vitalogy cut and live staple Stereogum once named the band's best song.