This weekend, Pearl Jam will roll into Telluride, CO to headline The Ride Festival, a 9,000-person festival that has hosted the likes of David Byrne, Widespread Panic and Gov’t Mule but never someone like Pearl Jam, who have altered the festival’s header to “The Ride Festival Featuring Pearl Jam.”

It almost feels like the band has adopted the fest as their own, with  a “miracle” that a band like Pearl Jam would headline the festival which started in 2012. Even still, while Pearl Jam began in Seattle and has toured around Denver throughout most of their career, this will be their first show in Telluride. 

Small, intimate shows are rare in the band’s modern era, as they’ve ascended into rock immortality through relentless touring and infectious live shows. As they ready to add another to the list, let’s revisit some of the smallest shows the band has played in the last decade. 

Easy Street Records | Seattle | 2005

Pearl Jam showed up at Easy Street Records in their native Seattle in 2005 for a surprise in-store performance that would soon become a release exclusively through independent record stores. Among the highlights of the sixteen song set include an early version of “Comatose,” which would appear on their 2006 self-titled record along with covers of Dead Kennedys and Avengers. 

Ed Sullivan Theater | 2006

“If this feels special to you, it certainly feels special to us,” Eddie Vedder said to the crowd inside the intimate Ed Sullivan Theater as the band readied to kick off their Live on Letterman taping. Celebrating the release of their 2006 self-titled record (let’s be real, it’s the Avocado album), the band ripped through ten songs full of new and old with a closing “Porch” that nearly brought the house down. 

Irving Plaza | 2006

The following night a true “intimate” show took place in New York City at Irving Plaza, the only time they would play the small NYC club, with the 21-song set featuring the debut of “Come Back” as well as a closing run of “State of Love and Trust,” “Porch,” “Alive” and “Yellow Ledbetter” as one of the biggest bands in the world shook the foundation of a storied New York City venue. 

Waimea Falls | 2006

When Pearl Jam recruited keyboardist Boom Gaspar, they quickly developed an intimate relationship with Hawaii. In 2006, seemingly a great year for intimate Pearl Jam shows, the band visited Waimea Falls in the islands for a short show performed on a make-shift stage. 

Vic Theatre | 2007

In a light touring year for Pearl Jam after the heavy album tour, the group managed to score a headlining slot at Lollapalooza in 2007 and in the tradition of the festival, played a warm-up gig the night before at the Vic Theatre. Of course, “Pearl Jam” and “warm-up” don’t mix, as the band mixed in 29 songs including an appearance from Ben Harper on “Indifference” and a take on Kiss’s “Black Diamond,” a live debut for the group. Vedder also started the show with five acoustic songs including his Chicago Cubs anthem “All the Way.” 

Third Man Records | 2016

In their latest surprise moment, Pearl Jam stopped by Jack White’s Third Man Records in Nashville on their way to headline Bonnaroo in June. Of course, the host jumped on stage with the band to trade guitar solos with Mike McCready on the rarely played “Of the Earth.”