Pearl Jam Celebrates 50 Shows In NYC With Little Steven & More Special Guests

Pearl Jam took the stage at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday for their 50th-lifetime concert in New York City. E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt, super producer Andrew Watt and renowned singer-songwriter Glen Hansard helped the band celebrate with special guest appearances.

Frontman Eddie Vedder made several mentions of the occasion and shared stories of past experiences in New York City, including his first visit to the Big Apple. Vedder explained that he was 25 and had just joined the band when Pearl Jam came to NYC for meetings with label executives. He had never been east of Chicago before and caught his reflection in a window while walking around Times Square. Chills came over him as he saw the familiar sight of himself and the unfamiliar sight of the big city.

Fittingly, Pearl Jam opened with “Garden” and then delivered a “Corduroy” that nearly blew the lid off the arena. Vedder addressed the crowd a few songs later about the importance of voting. He urged the audience to fight for women’s reproductive rights as an introduction of a “Daughter” that featured an “Another Brick In The Wall Pt. 2” tag with its lyrics changed to incorporate his political views.

Eddie Vedder told the crowd that Little Steven was in the house to attend his first Pearl Jam concert. The band reeled off three songs from their latest album, Dark Matter, in a row. The last, “Won’t Tell,” was played in Little Steven’s honor after the E Street Band guitarist championed the track on his Underground Garage radio show.

The rest of the 17-song main set featured a mix of classics, Dark Matter cuts and rarities. Pearl Jam dusted off “Glorified G” from 1993’s Vs. for its 2024 debut to fulfill iconic radio host Howard Stern’s request. Vedder explained the band doesn’t play the song often because he hates singing about guns even if it’s an anti-gun song. The frontman mocked shooting himself in the head at the end of “Glorified G.”

Dark Matter was produced by Andrew Watt who joined the band for the last two songs of the set. Eddie Vedder revealed Watt has accomplished so much in his career but had never performed at MSG until last night. Andrew Watt added fiery guitar to Dark Matter standout “Waiting For Stevie” and Vs. rocker “Rearviewmirror.”

Eddie Vedder returned to the stage to start the encore unplugged with Van Zandt’s “I Am A Patriot” and original “Just Breathe” and Glen Hansard’s “Song Of Good Hope.” Hansard accompanied Vedder on the latter. The three-song run sans the rest of the band seemed like a missed opportunity after the energy had been sky high at the end of the set.

Vedder’s bandmates returned for Pearl Jam’s recently revived cover of the John Lennon protest song “Gimme Some Truth.” The band then played “Setting Sun” off Dark Matter before finally getting back to potent rock with the tour’s first “Sonic Reducer” and the pairing of oldies “Leash” and “Alive.” Pearl Jam went on to bring out Little Steven, Andrew Watt and Glen Hansard and his band for a rollicking rendition of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World.” The Seattle rockers tacked on “Yellow Ledbetter” for good measure.

Watch additional fan-shot footage of Pearl Jam’s second of two 2024 shows at MSG:

Pearl Jam now heads to Philadelphia for concerts on Saturday, September 7 and Monday, September 9. The Dark Matter Tour of North America continues through September 17.