Pearl Jam were joined onstage by Bradley Cooper for a a raucous cover of Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World and an acoustic version of A Star Is Born song Maybe It’s Time.
The Hollywood star joined the band onstage twice during their set at Napa Valley’s BottleRock festival on May 25, 2024. Firstly, Cooper duetted with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder on an acoustic version of Maybe It’s Time, the song the actor’s character, Jackson Maine, sings in the Oscar-winning A Star Is Born.
After Vedder introduced “my great, great, great pal Bradley Cooper”, the pair performed a stripped-back duet on the song, written for the 2018 movie by country star Jason Isbell. Vedder, who played acoustic guitar as well as sharing vocals with Cooper, previously covered the song live in a 2019 solo set.
Cooper then rejoined the band at the end of their performance to join in on backing vocals and tambourine on Pearl Jam’s cover of Neil Young’s classic 1989 track Rockin’ In The Free World.
The actor is a longtime fan of Pearl Jam, even tapping up Vedder for tips for his performance in A Star Is Born. In 2020, the singer revealed the advice he gave the actor, telling Howard Stern: “I told him things like, you know, ‘Make sure your guitar covers your balls at all times.’”
Pearl Jam released their new album, Dark Matter, earlier this year. They begin a European tour in Dublin on June 22.
