Pearl Jam Frontman Eddie Vedder Describes His Scary Illness

2024-07-09

Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder.

Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder – Author Charles Ken, Photo via Anne Erickson

Rock stars are just regular people. They eat, sleep and get sick, just like regular people do. So, rock stars are not invincible, and with that in mind, Pearl Jam were forced to cancel a bunch of overseas tour dates in late June and early July due to an “illness” in the camp. Now, frontman Eddie Vedder has opened up about his recent illness and says it “almost felt like a near-death experience.” That’s scary to think about, because Vedder is one of the last surviving frontman from the major ’90s grunge bands.

Pearl Jam Frontman Eddie Vedder Describes His Scary Illness

On Saturday (July 6), Pearl Jam played their first show since the sickness, and it was in Barcelona, Spain. The group is touring in support of their latest album, “Dark Matter.” During Pearl Jam’s encore, fans know that Vedder usually walks back out to the crowd and performs a song acoustically by himself. For this show, he performed “Just Breathe.” After the song, he talked about his recent illness and how grateful he is to be okay again.

Vedder was full of emotion as he addressed the crowd. “Can I just say that the last week, it almost felt like a near-death experience,” he explained. “It was very uncomfortable, and it got frightening. It felt like chest bronchitis. It felt like maybe you couldn’t breathe and maybe you wouldn’t make it through the night and maybe you’d have to go to the hospital and maybe you’d…” Then he stopped talking, because he was so full of emotions. The audience started clapping for him, so he started talking again.

“A few of us… it just felt… You just realize how precious this life is, how lucky we are to have been living on a planet where we can go around and play to incredible people like the people in this room here tonight,” Vedder said. He added, “So, it was a poignant experience. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. And we won’t be forgetting tonight anytime soon.”

Vedder then went on to sing “Wasted Reprise,” which marked the first time Pearl Jam have ever played the song live. The song appears on their self-titled album. Watch the entire exchange via the video clip below.

Now, Pearl Jam are continuing on their massive world tour. Their trek started on June 22 in Dublin, Ireland. But, the trek hit a bump due to Vedder’s illness. On June 28, the band released a statement stating that the June 29 gig in London had “regrettably been canceled due to illness in the band.” Then, Pearl Jam also went on to cancel their shows in Berlin, Germany, due to illness. But, Vedder seems to be all better now. Now, Pearl Jam are back on tour, and hopefully this time it’s for good.

Charles Ken
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Posted by Charles Ken | Alternative, Grunge, Music, Rock, Rock News

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