Longtime Paul McCartney drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. has joined Pearl Jam behind the kit during a surprise performance at Ohana Festival.
The appearance came last night (September 25) during a festival headline slot that had been billed as “Eddie Vedder and Friends” at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California.
Instead, Vedder was joined by his Pearl Jam bandmates, who opened with ‘Corduroy’ before running through ‘Hail, Hail’, ‘Scared Of Fear’, ‘Wishlist’ and ‘Dark Matter’, with Laboriel making his debut behind the kit.
The show marked Pearl Jam’s first live performance since Matt Cameron announced that he was leaving the band after 27 years in July 2025. It is unclear whether Laboriel has permanently taken Cameron’s place, with Vedder introducing him as “filling in tonight”.
The band are due to headline Ohana again tomorrow night (September 27), their only other currently scheduled performance of 2026.
Laboriel has played with McCartney since 2001, first playing on his album ‘Driving Rain’ before making his live debut with him at the Concert For New York City that year. He has remained a member of McCartney’s live band ever since.
Earlier this year, McCartney praised Laboriel while speaking to NME about performing alongside Ringo Starr.
Pearl Jam played:
‘Corduroy’
‘Hail, Hail’
‘Scared Of Fear’
‘Wishlist’
‘Dark Matter’
‘I Got Id’ (with ‘Cinnamon Girl’ tag)
‘Do The Evolution’
‘Won’t Tell’
‘Pretty Green’ (The Jam tease)
‘Green Disease’
‘Lukin’
‘Porch’
Encore:
‘Better Man’ (with ‘Save It For Later’ tag)
‘Even Flow’
‘Sonic Reducer’ (Dead Boys cover)
‘Baba O’Riley’ (The Who cover)
