Monday night at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville was the long-awaited reunion for Pearl Jam fans in Indiana. Initially scheduled for September 10 last year, the rescheduled concert marked the band’s first performance at the venue in fourteen years. The excitement built up throughout the day, with fans enduring the intense heat to witness a night filled with Pearl Jam’s deep catalog and unforgettable moments.

The evening started with an opening set by Irish singer-songwriter Glenn Hansard, whose soulful performance set the tone for the evening. As Pearl Jam took the stage, the energy surged. The band dove into their set with “Wash,” followed by fan favorites like “Nothingman” and “Present Tense.” The setlist was a testament to the band’s versatility, spanning their extensive career and mixing classics with new material like “Scared of Fear” and “Dark Matter.” The blend kept the die-hard fans delighted, and the crowd erupted when Pearl Jam seamlessly blended “Daughter” with Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall,” showcasing their signature ability to make every performance unique.

The encore kept the momentum going with a moving collaboration, with the live debut of “Song of Good Hope,” as Hansard joined Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder for an acoustic rendition of the Hansard original dedicated to Michele Mintz Menke. The heartfelt dedication and the intimate performance brought the crowd to a hushed silence, a rare moment of stillness on an otherwise electrifying night. The rest of the band joined Eddie to perform “Lightning Bolt” as a dedication to Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. The night closed with an exhilarating trio of “Baba O’Riley” by The Who and Pearl Jam’s anthems “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter.” Eddie’s message to the sold-out audience throughout the night was genuine gratitude. The next tour stop will be a two-night run in Chicago at Wriggle Field, which should be two epic shows in the Windy City. 

Setlist: Wash, Nothingman, Present Tense, Last Exit, Spin the Black Circle, Not for You, Scared of Fear, React Respond, Wreckage, Daughter (with Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall”), Even Flow, Dark Matter, Upper Hand, Black, Do the Evolution, Running, Porch

Encore: Song of Good Hope (Glenn Hansard cover) (with Glenn Hansard) (dedicated to Michele Mintz Menke), Lightning Bolt (dedicated to Aaron, Joe, and Caitlin Clark), Corduroy, Setting Sun, Alive, Baba O’Riley (The Who cover), Yellow Ledbetter

Photo Gallery: Pearl Jam and Glenn Hansard