Eddie Vedder Says Pearl Jam Is Woodshedding, Excited After Cameron's Exit

Pearl Jam is rehearsing, energized, and keeping a new drummer's identity close to the chest. Speaking to Rolling Stone's Brian Hiatt via Zoom on February 11, frontman Eddie Vedder offered the clearest window yet into the band's status following Matt Cameron's July 2025 departure after 27 years behind the kit.

Vedder borrowed a phrase to frame where things stand. "The quote was, I think, 'Pearl Jam is in between eras at the moment,'" he told Hiatt. "And I thought that was actually pretty concise." Far from treating that transition as cause for alarm, Vedder leaned into it: "We're in the lab, we're woodshedding, excited. It's cool to think of change. As much as we'd like to have done it the way we did it forever — and we'll still be able to do that thing — I think we're all just excited for the future."

On the question of who will fill Cameron's seat, Vedder was deliberately opaque. "If I were to say anything, I think we'd wanna have a band discussion about what we'd wanna say or who would be the messenger or whatever," he said, leaving the drummer question conspicuously open.

Cameron announced his exit on Instagram in July 2025, shortly after Pearl Jam wrapped a spring arena tour. "After 27 fantastic years, I have taken my final steps down the drum riser for the mighty Pearl Jam," he wrote, adding: "Much love and respect to Ed, Mike, and Stone for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, one filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter." The Soundgarden veteran joined Pearl Jam in 1998 following his original band's initial breakup and went on to play on every studio album from Binaural through Dark Matter, a run that dwarfed every predecessor in the band's history. Pearl Jam has cycled through five drummers since forming in 1990.

Cameron cited a desire to redirect his creative energy as a driving factor. "I'm at a point in my life where I want to redirect my time and energy in a way that is a little bit based on what I want to pursue as an artist at this point," he said. He remains active: Rolling Stone confirmed Cameron is currently at work on a new Soundgarden album built around vocals Chris Cornell recorded before his death in 2017.

The Rolling Stone interview was primarily focused on Vedder's documentary Matter of Time, which chronicles his charity work supporting medical research into Epidermolysis Bullosa, a rare and severe genetic skin disorder. The film premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival at Spring Studios on June 12, 2025 in New York City and is now streaming on Netflix.

With Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Jeff Ament all in the rehearsal room alongside Vedder, Pearl Jam's core remains intact. The only question the band isn't answering yet is who will be driving the rhythm section when they next step out from the lab.