After months of speculation, Pearl Jam have finally revealed the name of the drummer set to take over from Matt Cameron, who left the band in the summer of 2025. It's Abe Laboriel Jr., a hugely experienced musician and a fixture in Paul McCartney's band for a quarter of a century.
The announcement came as a surprise during Eddie Vedder and Friends' concert on Friday night, just days before the new lineup's official debut at Ohana Festival. Vedder invited Laboriel onstage, and the first song they played together was "Corduroy", one of the classics from "Vitalogy".
Fifty-five years old, Laboriel has been playing with McCartney since "Driving Rain", released in 2001, and over the course of his career has racked up considerable experience on some of the biggest stages around. He's performed at the Super Bowl halftime show and in front of Queen Elizabeth II, and has also made a name for himself as a backing vocalist. It's not yet clear whether the drummer will be leaving McCartney's band for good to focus on Pearl Jam. Some clues, however, had already surfaced in recent months: his absence from the former Beatle's appearance on "Saturday Night Live", when he was replaced by Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, had fueled fan speculation.
Laboriel will make his official debut with Pearl Jam on Sunday at Ohana Festival, marking the start of a new chapter in the Seattle band's history.
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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by OndaRock Staff, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
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