Europe’s climate emergency has come for Eddie Vedder. Pearl Jam canceled their July 20 Vienna show after smoke from the fires outside of Paris damaged Vedder’s vocal cords. “Due to the extreme circumstances at the last outdoor site outside of Paris (heat, dust, and smoke from the fires) our singer Ed Vedder’s throat was left damaged,†the band said via social media. “Ed wants to play. There’s just no throat available at this time… So very, very deeply sorry.†Pearl Jam has been alerting people to climate change for years. In 2011, they were recognized for their efforts to curb their personal carbon footprints, and the band enlisted Greta Thunberg for their climate jeremiad video “Retrograde†in 2020.
As far as consequences of the ongoing heat crisis in Europe, a canceled Pearl Jam show is relatively minor. According to Axios, the death toll in Portugal and Spain has reached 1,900. The U.K. had its hottest day on record on Tuesday, and wildfires are sweeping through Italy, Greece, and France.