No frills, no gimmicks—just raw emotion, deep cuts, and a whole lotta love.
Pearl Jam
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA – 04/29/2025
Opening Act: Dead Pioneers
Setlist: [Intro Music: Dark Entry] Can’t Keep, Nothingman, Given To Fly, Once, Scared Of Fear, Wreckage, Even Flow, Unthought Known, Daughter/It’s Ok (Dead Moon), Dark Matter, In Hiding, Not For You/Modern Girl (Sleater-Kinney), Won’t Tell, Deep, Jeremy, Severed Hand, Porch
Encore: Keep Me In Your Heart (Warren Zevon), Inside Job, Mind Your Manners, Do The Evolution, Spin The Black Circle, Alive, Baba O’Riley (The Who), Indifference
Coming off two blazing nights in Florida, Pearl Jam hit Atlanta on April 29th for night three of their Dark Matter Tour 2025—and they showed no signs of slowing down.
The night kicked off with a high-voltage set by Dead Pioneers, fronted by artist and activist Gregg Deal (who also designed one of the tour posters). The band delivered a furious blast of politically-charged punk that got the Georgia crowd fired up.
At 8:52 PM, the house lights dropped and the eerie pulse of Dark Entry filled the arena. Then came the band—straight into Can’t Keep, followed by a heartfelt Nothingman, then two heavy-hitters: Given To Fly and Once.
The new stuff came early and hit hard: Scared Of Fear and Wreckage already feel like setlist staples, fitting right into the band’s live energy like they’ve always been there.
One of the night’s most touching moments came when Eddie Vedder dedicated Unthought Known to Atlanta Braves legend Hank Aaron—a tribute that got a huge crowd reaction. Daughter (tagged with Dead Moon’s It’s Ok) and Dark Matter kept the emotional momentum rolling.
Then came a nostalgic wave—In Hiding brought the house down, while Deep transported the crowd back to the raw grit of the early ’90s.
Another standout moment: Ed paused the show to look for a young fan named Isaac, who’s been dealing with health issues. Once he spotted him, Vedder tossed him a tambourine and sent love his way, sparking a standing ovation from the crowd.
The first set closed with a scorching Porch, and then things took a quiet, emotional turn as Ed returned solo for a beautiful take on Warren Zevon’s Keep Me In Your Heart. Intimate. Personal. Pin-drop silent.
The rest of the band came back with full throttle energy—Inside Job, Mind Your Manners, Do The Evolution, and Spin The Black Circle shook the arena to its core.
Before the final stretch, Ed raised a glass of champagne to Soundgarden, who’d just been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and toasted drummer Matt Cameron onstage—short, sweet, and full of heart.
The finale? A knockout. Alive, Baba O’Riley, and a haunting Indifference that had the whole place swaying in gratitude.
Three decades in, Pearl Jam are still a force of nature—no hype needed, just soul, connection, and rock ‘n’ roll that cuts straight to the bone.
Fun fact: this was one of those rare shows where the band stuck to the original setlist, no swaps, no skips—just exactly how they planned it.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.