Before Abe Laboriel Jr. could even take a seat behind the kit during Pearl Jam‘s headlining set at Ohana Festival on Sunday, the crowd had already begun shouting, “Abe! Abe! Abe!” The longtime Paul McCartney collaborator smiled and nodded, taking in the moment during the final night of Eddie Vedder‘s annual Southern California festival.
Laboriel had made an earlier, surprise appearance during the beachside fest two days prior, debuting with the band on a set curiously billed as “Eddie Vedder and Friends.” At the time, many fans were unsure if Laboriel would become a permanent fixture to the band and return later this weekend.
On Sunday night, Vedder signaled that we’ll likely be seeing more of Laboriel in Pearl Jam’s future. “We’re very honored that a Beatle no less, Paul McCartney, would allow us to borrow him to help us,” Vedder said from the stage. “Well, because here’s the thing. There’s an old musical adage that I do believe, and that is that you cannot be — and we’ve had the best — but you cannot be a great band without a great drummer. So, we thank Abe for keeping us in the running.”
The frontman then dedicated Pearl Jam classic “Better Man” to their new drummer. “So, I would like to dedicate, not the whole song, but just the chorus line to Mr. Abe — the chorus that says, ‘Can’t find a better man,’” the frontman said. Laboriel appeared caught off guard by Vedder’s words and held his hand to his chest, wiping his eyes.
The opening for Pearl Jam’s sixth drummer had been open since Matt Cameron’s amicable departure from the band in July 2025, and the group previously confirmed that it had chosen a new member, but kept details under wraps. While it’s still not clear if Laboriel will be pulling double duty for both Pearl Jam and McCartney, Sunday was the first time Vedder officially introduced him as part of the band.
Throughout the night, the band raged through 18 songs as Vedder rollicked on stage, sending the thousands gathered on the stretch of Doheny Beach into an absolute fervor. Mike McCready delivered his signature searing live performance, while Laboriel relentlessly pummeled through a nearly non-stop show that stretched from heavy hitters “Alive,” “Daughter,” and “Why Go,” to more recent offerings like “Setting Sun,” “Wreckage,” and “Running” from their 2024 album Dark Matter.
Elsewhere on the set, Billy Strings, who played at the Kia Forum the night before, dropped by as a surprise guest to sing “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” with Vedder. (He’s previously cited Pearl Jam as sounds that inspire his songwriting.) Strings made a second appearance in the night for a showdown with McCready during a cover of Neil Young’s “Throw Your Hatred Down” and held his own alongside the veteran guitarist.
Vedder also paid an emotional tribute to Glen Hansard at the beginning of the performance and played a video montage of the beloved musician. Hansard, a close friend of Vedder’s who performed at Ohana several times, died July 29 at the age of 56 after a motorcycle crash. “A great friend to anyone who ever met him and a great musician, a great human. There was really no one like him, so that’s what made it harder to deal with a loss of somebody so irreplaceable. He was here so often and we worked together so closely, and we wanted him to be here again,” said Vedder. “So, we’re going to let Mr. Glen Hansard open the show.”
Toward the end of the show, in perhaps a reference to Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s tour after advocating onstage for Palestinians living in Gaza, Vedder made a point to say that all bands that played at Ohana “were allowed to say whatever they wanted about any issue they wanted.” He pressed on: “This is part of free speech and that’s even more important now that they’re trying to shut down some of the press. You’re more than welcome to use these microphones to have or start a conversation or a thought process. This is all because we trust you.”
Vedder’s words echoed sentiments expressed earlier by artists who took the mic to speak out against injustice, including Alabama Shakes, who protested ICE; the Format, who played their new track confronting the war in Gaza, “Leave It Alone (Till the Morning)”; and Irish rock band Fontaines D.C., whose lead singer, Grian Chatten, shouted, “Free Palestine,” mid-performance.
Pearl Jam ended their set with anti-war song “Yellow Ledbetter,” and Vedder sat on the edge of the stage as the vast crowd sang along and Ohana Festival came to thunderous close.
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