Pearl Jam had a message for Paul McCartney after its two shows at Ohana Fest: Thank you for lending us your drummer. He was talking about Latino artist Abe Laboriel Jr., who has played with the Beatle for more than two decades.
This weekend, the Mexican musician sat in with Pearl Jam on September 25 and 27 in Dana Point, California. The sets were so special that on Monday, Eddie Vedder singled him out in an Instagram post celebrating the festival's 10th year.
"It was a joy to play with him, and he's obviously extraordinary at his craft," Vedder wrote. "The man works and PLAYS hard." Addressing McCartney, he added: "Thank YOU Paul. We owe you big time."
Laboriel's appearance was a consequential one for Pearl Jam. It was the band's first run of performances since Matt Cameron announced in 2025 that he was leaving after 27 years. Vedder described Laboriel as sitting in, and Pearl Jam has made no announcement naming a permanent replacement. At Sunday's show, fans chanted Laboriel's name as Vedder thanked him from the stage.
For many Latino listeners, the drummer's name points to another story. Laboriel is part of a family whose music has crossed Honduras, Mexico and the United States for generations. His father is Abraham Laboriel Sr., the Mexican bassist heard on thousands of recordings. His uncle was Johnny Laboriel, the Black Mexican singer who helped define his country's first wave of rock and roll. Their parents were Garifuna immigrants from Honduras. afm47.org
That ancestry rarely appears in the shorthand used to introduce Abe Jr. as "Paul McCartney's drummer." The Garifuna people have African and Indigenous Caribbean roots. After their ancestors were forced from Saint Vincent in the 18th century, they established communities along Central America's Caribbean coast, including in Honduras. Their language, music and dance are recognized by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. ich.unesco.org
The Laboriels carried their own version of that history into Mexican entertainment. Abe Jr.'s grandfather, Juan José Laboriel, worked as an actor, composer and musician in Mexico. His son Johnny became the lead singer of Los Rebeldes del Rock, a pioneering Mexican rock group whose songs included "Rock del angelito" and "Melodía de amor." Johnny later pursued a solo career. Mexico's national radio institute remembers him as an icon of the genre. bassmagazine.com
Abraham Sr. took a different route. He began on classical guitar, switched to bass while studying at Berklee College of Music and became one of Los Angeles' busiest session musicians. His credits include recordings with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Dolly Parton and Madonna. He also co-founded the bands Friendship and Koinonia. Berklee awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2005.
His success did not erase the question of race in the family's Mexican story. In an interview with El Nuevo Sol, Abraham Sr. recalled telling his Boston-born wife that everyone in Mexico looked like him. As they walked through the city, she observed that they did not. He also described how his sister encountered prejudice from families who did not want it known that their children had Black friends. elnuevosol.net
Abe Jr. grew up inside that musical family, with a father whose bass lines were in constant demand and a mother, Lyn, who was a trained singer as well as a pediatrician. He began drumming on pots and pans as a small child. At four, he received a drum kit and started playing with his father. He later accompanied Abraham Sr. to sessions and questioned drummers including Steve Gadd and Jeff Porcaro about how they played.
His childhood in Woodland Hills, outside Los Angeles was also soccer teams and baseball team. His parents also encouraged piano lessons. "I didn't really like them. Saxophone lessons wasn't for me. I was always fascinated with guitar and bass, but was also intimidated because my dad is such an amazing prolific musician, So I always gravitated towards the thing that I could jam with him," Laboriel recalled in an interview with iHeart Radio.
After graduating from Berklee in 1993, Abe Jr. made his own opening. He showed up at a closed audition for guitarist Steve Vai's band and waited hours for the chance to play. When another drummer failed to appear, Laboriel got the spot. Work with Seal, Sting, k.d. lang and Eric Clapton followed.
Then came McCartney. Laboriel played drums, percussion, and backing vocals on the former Beatle's 2001 album Driving Rain and joined the touring band formed the following year. He has remained a drummer and harmony singer in that lineup ever since.
Ohana Fest placed him before another band's devoted audience, at a moment when every beat behind Pearl Jam was bound to be heard closely. Vedder's public thanks gave that audience a name to remember. Behind it is a family that helped shape Mexican rock, played on generations of American hits and traces its roots to the Garifuna coast of Honduras.
