Earlier this year, drummer Matt Cameron announced his decision to leave Pearl Jam after 27 years with the band. Although his replacement still has yet to be officially announced, fans are now speculating that Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins may be joining the band.
The rumors were ignited after Perkins shared a post on Instagram celebrating frontman Eddie Vedder’s birthday on Dec. 23.
“Happy birthday, Eddie,” Perkins wrote, captioning a photo of himself with Eddie Vedder.
It wasn’t long before fans in the comment section began to speculate about Perkins taking over for Cameron as Pearl Jam’s new drummer.
“Omg are you gonna replace Matt?? As much as that can be possible,” one Pearl Jam fan asked.
“Second Pearl Jam-related post in less than a couple weeks, huh….I want to believe,” another person commented.
“Stephen Perkins needs to be the next Pearl Jam drummer. Please!” a third fan said.
This comes shortly after Perkins’ band Jane’s Addiction officially announced their disbandment over a year after frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro got into an onstage altercation during a September 2024 show in Boston.
In a statement shared to Instagram on Dec. 17, Farrell apologized to “our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.” In a separate statement, the band explained that while they “have come together one last time to resolve our differences,” they have chosen not to continue on. “We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors. Jane’s Addiction will forever live in our hearts.”
