Pearl Jam in Raleigh: Carolina in My Mind and Love for the Crew

During their second night at the Lenovo Center, Pearl Jam paid tribute to James Taylor and Stevie Wonder, dropped rarities like In My Tree and Immortality, and celebrated the heart and soul of their crew.

Opening Act: Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers

Setlist: Setting Sun, Corduroy, Why Go, Last Exit, Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town, Do The Evolution, Amongst The Waves, Dark Matter, React, Respond, Even Flow, Immortality, Waiting For Stevie, Untitled/Carolina In My Mind (James Taylor), MFC, In My Tree, Lukin, Porch

Encore: Bee Girl, Life Wasted, Black, Better Man, Alive, Leaving Here (The High Numbers, w/ Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers), Rockin’ In The Free World (Neil Young, w/ Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers)

Pearl Jam kicked off night two in Raleigh with a surprise — Setting Sun opened the show for the first time ever. It was a bold and moody opener, setting the tone for what turned out to be a powerful and emotional night at the Lenovo Center. The second show of their Raleigh doubleheader proved, once again, that no two Pearl Jam sets are the same.

They ripped right into Corduroy, Why Go, and Last Exit, keeping the energy high, before dialing it down for a crowd-favorite singalong with Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town. Then Ed stepped up to the mic and gave a heartfelt shout-out to the Raleigh crowd, sharing memories of early gigs in the city and even borrowing a local crew member’s bike to cruise around the neighborhood — “I remember thinking… we could live here.”

One of the night’s lighter moments came when Ed spotted a guy in the crowd wearing a sparkly jacket and asked to borrow it — “You look way more rock than me!” — before launching into Amongst The Waves.

The band then dove into the Dark Matter material with Dark Matter and React, Respond, the latter introduced with some reflection on how unexpected — and amazing — it is that the band is still going this strong after all these years.

Even Flow saw Mike McCready absolutely tear it up, walking right up to the front of the barricade and shredding face-to-face with the fans. Before the song, Ed gave a huge shoutout to the band’s crew, who had pulled off a serious logistical feat to make both Raleigh shows and a local hockey game happen. They broke down and rebuilt the stage in the middle of the night — twice. Ed singled out lead carpenter Mike Gomez, who recently became a grandfather during the tour:

Then came a deeper cut — Immortality — followed by a special birthday shoutout: “Happy Birthday Stevie Wonder,” Ed said, leading into Waiting For Stevie, which made its 2025 Dark Matter Tour debut. The song, Ed explained, was written during the Earthling sessions while waiting for Stevie to show up to the studio — “He always takes his time.”

Up next, Ed started off with a snippet of Untitled, which seamlessly flowed into his first-ever live take on James Taylor’s Carolina In My Mind (VIDEO). Fans will remember he also once covered Taylor’s Millworker years ago.

The deep cuts kept coming: MFC, the ever-beautiful In My Tree, and a raw, furious Lukin, before the band closed the main set with a thunderous Porch.

The encore opened gently with Bee Girl, during which Ed spoke about how precious life is, touching on the story of a fan named Nicole and the struggles so many people face. That transitioned into Life Wasted, and then the emotional high of Black, Better Man, and Alive.

For the finale, the Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers joined Pearl Jam on stage for two full-on rockouts: Leaving Here — a nod to The High Numbers (early The Who) — and Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World, with everyone on stage tearing the roof off.

A night full of emotion, surprises, rare gems, and an undeniable reminder that Pearl Jam’s heart still beats strong — and loud.

Setlist notes:

Got To Give was on the original list but was swapped out for Waiting For Stevie
Wasted Reprise was written but not played
Rearviewmirror was listed as a possible alternate for Porch