The question hanging over Pearl Jam‘s Pearl Jam Ohana Festival appearance had little to do with the setlist: who was going to be sitting behind the kit? By Sunday night in Dana Point, after an 18-song set that closed the festival’s tenth anniversary edition, the answer felt less like a mystery and more like a courtship playing out in public.
Pearl Jam Ohana Festival Drummer Makes His Case Across Two Nights
Abe Laboriel Jr. had been revealed on Friday, stepping in for the first time when Pearl Jam stunned a crowd that had only been promised an ‘Eddie Vedder and friends’ evening, delivering an unannounced 15-song set. By Sunday, he was clearly at home. Ultimate Classic Rock reports that Pearl Jam’s last performance with Matt Cameron came on 18 May in Pittsburgh, with Cameron’s departure from the band then confirmed in July 2025 after a 27-year run. Cameron had joined in 1998 and appeared on every Pearl Jam studio album from 2000’s Binaural onwards, having previously served as Soundgarden’s drummer from 1986 until their initial breakup in 1997.
Laboriel was not an unknown quantity in Vedder’s orbit. Consequence notes that he had previously collaborated with Vedder on the 2022 solo album Earthling, which helps explain the chemistry on display across both nights at Ohana. On classics such as ‘Why Go’, ‘Jeremy’ and ‘Alive’, he was powerful without being note-for-note faithful to the originals. On ‘Given To Fly’, ‘Dissident’ and ‘Daughter’, his unique fills and accents made the songs sound freshly considered rather than dutifully reproduced.
Vedder addressed the situation directly before ‘Better Man’, thanking Paul McCartney for lending Laboriel to the band: ‘You cannot be a great band without a great drummer. So, we thank Abe for keeping us in the running.’ The following morning, Vedder extended that thanks via Instagram, writing that Laboriel was ‘obviously extraordinary at his craft’ and adding: ‘Thank you so much for this weekend Abe. And thank YOU Paul. We owe you big time.’
The band stopped short both nights of formally naming Laboriel as Cameron’s permanent replacement, but the warmth of the language suggests they hope to continue playing together, even while Laboriel remains a live collaborator with McCartney.
Billy Strings, Glen Hansard and the Shape of an Ohana Weekend
The drummer question was not the only thread running through Sunday’s set. Billy Strings came out on acoustic for ‘Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town’, a song Vedder said had won him a school talent show in fourth grade. Strings, an avowed Pearl Jam fan who performs several of their songs in his own shows, had also covered Mother Love Bone’s ‘Crown of Thorns’ the night before during his own sold-out show at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum. He stayed on for an electric guitar duel with Mike McCready on ‘Throw Your Hatred Down’, a track from the band’s 1995 Mirror Ball album recorded backing Neil Young.
Vedder introduced Strings warmly: ‘Two years ago, I met a young man who graced the Ohana stage and I’ve been following him ever since. He was in town playing and he’s not on the Ohana bill this year, but on his night off he decided to come down to see the show.’
The evening had opened on a more sombre note. Vedder spoke at length about Glen Hansard, who died in a July motorcycle accident, pausing at one point to compose himself. ‘Really no one like him, so that’s what made it harder to deal with a loss of somebody so irreplaceable,’ he said. A video tribute followed, featuring a montage of Hansard performing at Ohana across the past decade. ‘We wanted him to be here again,’ Vedder said. ‘So, we’re going to let Mr. Glen Hansard open the show.’
Elsewhere across the final day, the reunited Rilo Kiley, Fontaines D.C. and Pixies all played sets, with Pixies welcoming Vedder onstage to handle vocals on ‘Wave of Mutilation’. The festival closed, as festivals do when curfews loom, with a slightly shortened ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ and a communal cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’, many of the day’s musicians crowding the stage to sing or shake tambourines. The ten-year run of Ohana ended with an open question about who Pearl Jam’s drummer will be going forward, though after this weekend, the direction of travel seems clear enough.
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