Pearl Jam hasn’t named a permanent drummer. Bassist Jeff Ament said the band is still trying out players, and he shared the news in a recent interview with Under the Radar Mag.
The band returned to the stage in September for its first show since drummer Matt Cameron left in July 2025. Abe Laboriel Jr., who has long played drums for Paul McCartney, sat behind the kit at Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Fest. Many fans guessed he had joined the lineup for good. Eddie Vedder later thanked him for “sitting in.”
Jeff Ament called Abe Laboriel Jr. “such an incredible drummer.” The band has no deadline, he said, but it wants to play next year.
“We’re not in any massive rush but we want to play some shows next year,” Jeff Ament said in the interview. “I’m 63, but I’m pretty fit. I think I can act like a young foolish guy up there for a few more years but I feel a little bit more urgency in terms of getting out there to play shows when we are physically young-ish.”
Matt Cameron spent 27 years with Pearl Jam. He joined in 1998 and made his studio debut with the band on the 2000 album Binaural. Cameron was also Soundgarden’s drummer, playing with the band from 1986 to 1997 and again from 2010 to 2017.
Jeff Ament said the death of Chris Cornell in 2017 hit Matt Cameron hard. “I think when Chris [Cornell] passed that was a massive hit for all of us, but in particular for Matt,” Jeff Ament said. “I know there was a period of time where he wasn’t sure he wanted to even play anymore, and pretty much since then he’s been talking about winding it down and wanting to do some other things.”
Jeff Ament released a photo book, Since Forever, on Sept. 25. He made it with his brother, Barry Ament. The book holds more than 250 black-and-white photos, mostly taken from 1990 to 1998. He’ll also be touring to promote it.
Pearl Jam has no shows on the calendar. Eddie Vedder will play two solo shows at the Best of Blues and Rock Festival in Brazil on Nov. 20 and 22.
