Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder compares Taylor Swift fans to punk rock crowds

18 March 2024, 15:10

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Taylor Swift — Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder has praised Taylor Swift fans. Picture: Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images, Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

By Jenny Mensah

The Pearl Jam frontman has recalled the first time he took his daughter to watch the pop icon and praised the Swifties for their energy.

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Eddie Vedder says taking his daughter to a Taylor Swift show reminded him of being with "the misfits" at punk rock shows when he was young.

The Pearl Jam frontman has recalled the moment he first experienced the global pop star's shows and commended her fans, dubbed the Swifties, for their "powerful" and "galvanising" energy.

Speaking to MOJO, he spoke about not just the show itself, but the “the run-up to it," which involved "making friendship bracelets with her and the generosity of these young girls and boys, trading these bracelets with different messages on them – lyrics, song titles, just acts of good will on these little bracelets."

The grunge legend - who spent his teen years between San Diego and Chicago, where he joined punk bands such as Surf and Destroy, Indian Style and Bad Radio - he added: "They had found their tribe, they were all agreeing on something".

“The craziest thing,” he went on, “was it reminded me of punk rock crowds, of being aligned with all of the misfits in our town, back in the day. It was galvanising and powerful…”

Pearl Jam - Dark Matter (Official Visualizer)

Meanwhile, Pearl Jam are set to galvanise their own audiences with live shows this year, where they will support their 12th studio album, Dark Matter, which is set for release on 19th April.

The grunge rockers, who are completed by Jeff Ament, Mike McCreedy and Matt Cameron will kick off their dates in Vancouver on 4th May, before heading to Europe where they will play the likes of Manchester Co-op Live and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Support on their UK & Ireland shows come from The Murder Capital and Richard Ashcroft.