Nelson teen rocks with Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam’s final show in Auckland on Sunday will be a night to remember for one young Nelsonian.

Seventeen-year-old Leon Fenemor, who recently made headlines in Nelson for becoming the country’s youngest pilot, received a shout-out early in the concert at Mt Smart Stadium when Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder spotted his homemade sign among a sea of fans.

“Eddie, can I play please” read the sign, which had a list of the Pearl Jam songs he knew how to play penned on the other side.

However, at that point, it was “too early in the show to be asking for favours”, Eddie, 59, joked as he read the request aloud to a cheering audience.

But during the encore, Leon’s wish was granted: plucked from the crowd by none other than Eddie himself, the young fan joined the rockers on stage for a rendition of Neil Young’s 1991 classic Rockin’ in the Free World.

His image emblazoned across the large LED screens flanking the stage, Leon was handed a guitar and launched into the performance of a lifetime alongside the band’s guitarists, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, and bassist Jeff Ament.

“I’m still buzzing,” the Nayland College student told Nelson Weekly on Monday.

Leon says he secured his place at the front of the crowd two hours before the show started.

“I didn’t really expect to get up there…. But it happened and I was just mind blown. They are my favourite band.”

He says it is probably the “first and last time” he’ll play in front of 40,000 people.

“Surprisingly, I didn’t have any nervousness. It was such a view from up there.”

Leon walked off with a pocketful of Eddie’s guitar picks and his tambourine, and, of course, an experience that most fans could only dream of.

“It was cool to see that they are real people, they were just so nice. They really care about their fans.”

Leon says he is now content to go back to his 90’s covers band in Nelson – although, now he’s played with Pearl Jam, he jokes that his bandmates “might need to step it up”.

Head here to watch a video of Leon’s performance with Pearl Jam.

This article was written in collaboration with NZ Herald.