18-year-old plays with Pearl Jam standing in as drummer recovers from Covid

Pearl Jam were joined on stage by an 18-year-old drummer who picked up his sticks in Matt Cameron's absence who is currently recovering from coronavirus.

The band has had to enlist the help of stand-in drummers while touring after their regular drummer was taken ill.

Kai Neukermans joined the band for their 2013 song 'Mind Your Manner' at their Oakland show earlier this week.

He told the San Fransisco Chronicle that after hearing that Cameron was unavailable to play the show, he texted Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder‘s daughter Olivia, who he'd previously met.

He then skipped school to send a video of himself drumming along to a Pearl Jam track, earning him a place on stage at the Oakland Arena alongside the band.

They also enlisted the help of former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer who took on the drums to perform Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, ‘Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town’, ‘Why Go’ and ‘Corduroy’.

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