NEWS
Eddie Vedder
Photo by Danny ClinchPearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder, who’s back on the road after positive COVID-19 cases postponed dates on his solo tour earlier in February, says his own bout with the coronavirus was “pretty serious.”
As Ultimate Classic Rock first reported on Sunday (Feb. 27), Vedder shared his experience in front of a live audience in Los Angeles Friday night. The moment was captured on video by a fan at the show.
“I just wanted to take a quick second to look at this, because it’s very rare,” Vedder said, looking out at the crowd after his daughter Olivia performed her own song “My Father’s Daughter” onstage at L.A.’s YouTube Theater. “It’s incredible. I got the COVID right before we were supposed to start practicing, probably five, six weeks ago, and literally saw my life flash in front of my eyes.”
Vedder continued, “I wasn’t quite sure… because I’ve done some very good things for my body, and I’ve also had a lot of fun. I’ve done some things that could be … some kind of abuse, I mean, nothing really clinical,” he joked. “I won’t get into the details. Just use your imagination!”
“But it was, it felt pretty serious,” said Vedder of his illness. “And to get through that and then be back in a room like this, facing this many people facing this way, listening to us play music for you is really, truly, it’s been a gift and an honor. Thanks for listening. We’re so grateful.”
Vedder and his band the Earthlings — Chad Smith, Josh Klinghoffer, Chris Chaney, Glen Hansard and Andrew Watt — launched the tour support of Vedder’s new album, Earthling.
Listen to Vedder talk about returning to the stage after having COVID-19 in the concert clip below, and watch Olivia perform “My Father’s Daughter,” a ballad co-written by her dad and Hansard.
Metallica bassist Jason Newsted says he is now “free and clear” after facing throat cancer.
The 63 year old musician, who played with the Enter Sandman legends from 1986 through 2001, has shared details of his diagnosis publicly for the first time. He explained that doctors discovered it early, and on May 8, 2025 he “underwent a procedure” to treat the condition.
Speaking on the Let There Be Talk podcast, he said: “They took a bunch of s*** outta here and then they went in with lasers this way and took a bunch of s*** out.
“So the cavern inside my head is different than it was, but we got it early. And I got my ‘free and clear’ about three weeks ago. So I beat it.”
Jason contributed to several of Metallica’s most iconic releases, including 1988’s ...And Justice For All, their self titled 1991 album, 1996’s Load, the 1997 follow up Reload, and 1998’s Garage Inc.
After going through his cancer experience, the bassist made a point to slow down and actually give himself time to recover instead of constantly pushing forward.
He explained: “I promised myself I was going to rest, and that was the first time I’ve done that in my life.
"I’m usually just on or off. And so I promised myself I was gonna take the gravity off and lay down for the right amount of hours."
The health scare also led Jason to give up smoking weed and drinking alcohol, something he admits he likely would not have done otherwise.
He added: “The great spirit got my attention and said, ‘That’s not good right now, man.’ And so it pulled me off it.
"And so now I’m more clear-headed than I’ve been in my entire adult life. And so there’s blessings within everything. The lemonade I’m making this summer, bro — mm. Sweet. Ooh.”
Jason has previously said that his unexpected departure ultimately helped Metallica continue moving forward, while James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich later admitted they struggled to process his decision at the time.
Lars told Apple Music in 2021: “Jason is the only member of Metallica who has ever left willingly. And that in itself is a statistic.
"And the resentment from James and I was just so… 'You can’t do that. You can only leave if we want you to leave'.
"And then we weren’t equipped at the time to do a deep dive into why he was leaving. So of course, now you can see 20 years later, it makes complete sense.”
