Pearl Jam’s final show in Auckland on Sunday became an unforgettable night for one young Kiwi guitarist, who had the incredible opportunity to jam on stage with his musical idols in front of an ecstatic crowd.
The 17-year-old, identified as Leon Fenemor from Nelson, caught the attention of Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder early in the evening at Go Media Stadium. During the show, Vedder spotted a homemade sign in the crowd that read, “Eddie, can I play guitar with you, please?” The sign also had a list of song requests on the back.
Vedder, 59, read the sign aloud to the audience, joking, “It’s too early in the show to be asking for favours,” which prompted cheers and laughter from the crowd.
However, during the encore, Vedder made the young fan’s dream come true. He invited Leon on stage to perform Neil Young’s 1991 classic “Rockin’ in the Free World,” where the teenager was handed a guitar and pick and launched into the performance of a lifetime. His image was displayed across the massive LED screens as the crowd erupted in applause. Phones lit up throughout the stadium, capturing the moment as Leon jammed alongside the band’s guitarists, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, as well as bassist Jeff Ament.
Leon, visibly thrilled, jumped up and down with excitement as he strummed the guitar, even sharing a lighthearted moment with Vedder. The two exchanged a laugh and spoke into each other’s ears, creating a heartwarming interaction on stage.
Speaking with Stuff after the performance, Leon described it as an “unbelievable feeling” to play with his “favourite band.” He explained, “I wasn’t actually nervous. Surprisingly, I was just happy to be on. To kind of see it from the stage perspective and Eddie Vedder, you know, patting me on the back – just crazy. Oh, my gosh.”
After the performance, Vedder handed Leon a few guitar picks to keep as mementos. Leon left the stage to raucous applause, marking the moment with a selfie to remember the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Clips of the performance shared on social media quickly went viral, with fans praising the band’s generosity and Leon’s moment of fame. One fan on Instagram commented, “Dude, what a dream! He even got Stoney-Pony [Stone Gossard] to drop to one knee (first time I’ve seen that move, lol).” Others praised Vedder and the band for embracing the young fan and making him feel part of the Pearl Jam family.
“Truly a life-changing moment for the young man,” wrote one fan, while another added, “What a treat for the kid! Sweet for Eddie to do. Love Stoney getting down.”
The show on Sunday also featured a strong nod to New Zealand culture, with a kapa haka group opening the concert with “Ka Mate” and a powerful waiata. During the show, Pearl Jam dedicated their 2009 song Amongst the Waves to the Surf Life Saving team at Karekare Beach, who had famously rescued Vedder in 1995 when he was caught in a rip while surfing with New Zealand musician Tim Finn.
As the concert neared its end, Vedder took a moment to thank the Warriors for allowing Pearl Jam to perform at Go Media Stadium, their home turf in Auckland.
This concert marked Pearl Jam’s second and final show in New Zealand as part of their ongoing Dark Matter World Tour, in support of their 12th studio album. The band had last performed in Aotearoa at the Big Day Out in 2014, ending a 10-year absence from New Zealand stages.
Pearl Jam, formed in Seattle in 1990, has enjoyed a career that spans over three decades. The band, along with Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains, was part of the “Big Four” of Seattle’s music scene, leading the charge of the grunge movement that defined the early 1990s.
Eddie Vedder is the last surviving frontman of the original grunge scene: Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell passed away in 2017, Alice in Chains’ Layne Staley died in 2002, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain tragically passed in 1994, marking the end of the grunge era.
As Pearl Jam’s Dark Matter World Tour continues, the band will perform in Gold Coast, Melbourne, and Sydney for their final stops.
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