After much anticipation over who was going to be behind the kit for Pearl Jam for the first time since Matt Cameron left last summer, we have finally found our answer… or so we think. Abe Laboriel Jr., who has made a name for himself as the drummer for Paul McCartney, was revealed as the guy holding it down for the band as they played for the first time since May of 2025. We’ll have plenty of reaction to how Abe approached these songs and what kind of chemistry he had with the band that led to the festival being a big success. But there is also the fallout after Ohana with some added speculation on whether or not Abe is fully a part of Pearl Jam’s future. We’ll address comments from the band and try to make sense of the next steps involving their future.
While we’ll spend this time talking about moments paying tribute to Glen Hansard and showcasing the talents of Billy Strings, this wrap up episode will go into a lot of detail on fandom, friendship and personal growth. I will share my story of how a difficult stretch led to me losing a lot of my love for this fandom, and how this weekend is one big step ahead in finding a way to gain it all back. If you don’t want to hear the personal side of things, then perhaps only the first half of this episode is for you, but the stories are all meant to be told.
