Drummer Matt Cameron makes an announcement that will make Pearl Jam fans sad

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For nearly three decades, Matt Cameron served as the steadfast drummer for Pearl Jam, joining them in 1988 following the disbandment of his previous successful band, Soundgarden. However, on July 7, 2025, he took everyone by surprise with a social media post confirming that he was leaving Pearl Jam at the age of 62.

For 27 amazing years, I’ve played my last show on the drum platform with Pearl Jam. I want to express my deepest gratitude and admiration towards Jeff, Ed, Mike, and Stone for allowing me to join the band in 1998 and for offering me a once-in-a-lifetime experience filled with friendships, creativity, challenges, and laughter.

He went on expressing his deep gratitude towards the team, employees, and fans worldwide. This incredible voyage has been truly remarkable, and there’s more to come. Thank you all from the deepest part of my heart.

Drummer Matt Cameron exits Pearl Jam after 27 years

Shortly afterward, the band released their own declaration: “From being among our earliest musical idols in Skin Yard and legendary Soundgarden to contributing to our initial demos in 1990, Matt Cameron has been an unparalleled and genuine force as a musician and drummer. He has driven the past 27 years of Pearl Jam concerts and studio productions. It was a significant phase for our band, and we wish him continued success. We will miss him dearly and consider him forever our artistic and musical friend. Our affection for you, Matt, remains unwavering.

Cameron has had a highly successful career up to this point. Relocating from San Diego to Seattle in 1983, he quickly established his reputation through his remarkable talent for seamlessly adapting to any beat or time signature, whether simple or complex, without missing a beat. In 1986, he became a member of Soundgarden, one of the original pioneers of the grunge genre.

During his time in Soundgarden, Cameron formed friendships with Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, who were future members of Pearl Jam. Together, they jammed on early demos that would later be included in Pearl Jam’s debut album, “Ten” (1991).

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Initially, when the founding drummer of Pearl Jam, Jack Irons, departed from the group, Cameron (who was available at the moment) became a permanent member of the band. However, he also split his time between Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, as he resumed working with them once they reunited in 2010.

In 2017, Cameron was included as part of the band and recognized in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That year’s induction ceremony was hosted by David Letterman, who is reportedly a huge fan of the band.

For both the band and Cameron, there were many compelling reasons behind the induction, considering that Pearl Jam has managed to place a total of 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 throughout their career so far, with “Last Kiss” reaching the second spot on the chart.

The band boasts an impressive discography with thirteen top 10 albums across all genres over the course of its career. Among these, they’ve held the number one spot for five weeks with their album “Vs.”, spent a week at the top with “Vitalogy”, two weeks with “No Code”, a week with “Backspacer”, and another week with “Lightning Bolt”.

In terms of Soundgarden’s album collection, Cameron contributed to all six of the band’s releases, three of which achieved platinum status: “Badmotorfinger” (1991), “Superunknown” (1994), and “Down on the Upside” (1996).

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that Cameron played the drums for the temporary band called Temple of the Dog (1990). This project was formed as a tribute to the late lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood. The lead vocals were provided by the relatively unknown singer at the time, Eddie Vedder.

Cameron’s diverse abilities earned him a formidable reputation, making him a highly requested studio musician. For instance, he contributed drum loops to Prodigy’s album “The Fat of the Land” (1997) and played drums on Geddy Lee’s debut solo album “My Favourite Headache” (2000).

Given that Pearl Jam is not scheduled for any live performances for the remainder of 2025, this provides them ample opportunity to make a decision regarding Cameron’s successor.

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2025-07-08 18:00