Matt Cameron Shuts Down Retirement Rumours After Pearl Jam Exit

Matt Cameron is still making music. And that’s the short version of this story.

After announcing his departure from Pearl Jam earlier this month, fans have been spinning up retirement rumours like it’s a done deal. To be fair, it didn’t come out of nowhere. In his goodbye message, Cameron called his 27-year run with the band “the opportunity of a lifetime,” but didn’t say anything about what’s next. Just a vague “more to follow” and nothing since. That left Reddit, Twitter and all the usual echo chambers doing what they usually do.

“He’s 62, he’s said the years of drumming have caught up with him, I think he’s done,” read one popular post.

But no. Cameron broke the silence with a quick line on Instagram: “Thank you for the kind words of support and for the record, I’m still an active musician.” Blink and you’d miss it, but there it is.

What “active” means in his world now is anyone’s guess. Soundgarden is still out there in the ether, at least spiritually. Ben Shepherd recently said they’re finally revisiting the unfinished album with Chris Cornell. Cameron was always part of that conversation, so maybe the wheels are turning there again.

Of course, the other noise is coming from Foo Fighters fans. Josh Freese stepped away suddenly in May and a replacement hasn’t been announced. Cameron’s name has come up before — most loudly after Taylor Hawkins passed in 2022 — but he shut it down back then. “Internet rumours are false,” he wrote. “I haven’t joined the Foos.” Still, the Hawkins tribute show in LA had Cameron behind the kit, and people have long memories.

If he does jump into another big project, great. If not, that’s fine too. Either way, the guy’s not retiring, he’s just moving on. What comes next is his to shape.