Eddie Vedder recently described crying tears of joy after late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and his ex-wife Susan Silver told Pearl Jam before they went onstage at the Roskilde Festival on June 30, 2000 that their daughter Lily Cornell Silver had been born. Sadly, at the show tragedy struck, with nine fans being trampled to death. Vedder told the story on the Mind Wide Open podcast.
“We kind of cried some tears of joy and we all gave each other a hug. You were the first baby of all the bands. That was a huge, huge moment. And then we went out, with you on our minds, you who we hadn’t even met yet, and we were feeling empowered and emotional. And then, I don’t know.
It was maybe 40 minutes into the show and all the sudden these terrible events happened. We’ve gone through a lot healing with some of the parents of those individuals — the families of those great individuals. We got to know and respect not just them but the pain their families had to go through.”
Lily Cornell Silver also described how honored she was to have Eddie appear on her podcast, which raises awareness for mental health issues, “I am thrilled that Ed offered to do Mind Wide Open.
His and his family’s support around my series means so much to me. He has always been like an uncle to me and is one of the pillars of support in my life. I know how impactful his voice is to people around the world and I deeply appreciate everything he stands for, so I am really excited for others to watch and hear his insights.” Vedder also discussed the darkness surrounding Layne Staley and his music.
