Eddie Vedder returned to the Ohana Festival with a headline set built from tunes his fans love to hear: Pearl Jam songs, his solo work, and covers. On Friday (9/26) he kicked his headliner set off with a DEVO cover and it was on.
The festival takes place each year at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point and was co-founded by Vedder in 2016. Ohana Festival draws around 14,500 people per day, making it one of the larger coastal events in Southern California.
Past editions have featured Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, Jack White, and the like.
This year the lineup included Green Day, Hozier, Kings of Leon, Leon Bridges, and Cage the Elephant among others.
Vedder grew up south of Dana Point in San Diego County and attended San Dieguito High School in Encinitas not that far from the rocking.
After “Gut Feeling” by DEVO, the performance included crowd-pleasing hits and rarities. “Setting Forth” appeared for the first time since 2017, and “No Ceiling” was dusted off for the first time since 2019.
Eddie has never flinched from covers. Friday he busted with “I’m One” by The Who, “Watch Outside” by the Mono Men, and “Save It for Later” by The English Beat (with a snippet of “Better Man”).
And after talking about how "a certain administrator" from the high school he (rarely) attended "I drove by it a number of times" made his life hell, the Pearl Jam frontman performed a rocking live debut to Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same.”
It sounded very much like what a teen would play in his room as he was raging against school bullies.
The tune was followed, symbolically, perhaps by the PJ song "Rearview Mirror," the title track from the group's sole greatest hits album.
Next on the hit parade was another cover, this time of the George Harrison tune, "Isn't It a Pity," from the Beatles' guitarist's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. Vedder called him "a great earthling."
This year was the 10th incarnation of the Ohana Festival which began in 2016, was cancelled in 2020 due to the plague, and made up for it with a doubleheader in 2021 (one in Sept, and the encore a month later).
Last year’s lineup saw Pearl Jam headline two nights while Neil Young and Crazy Horse closed the other. He also popped on stage throughout the weekend to jam with some of the artists.
Ohana tries (and succeeds) in blending the laid-back California lifestyle with the even more chill vibes of Hawaii.
It even has The Cove Gallery where artists from Shepard Fairey to Todd Francis... and Vedder himself, have their artwork hung for attendees to browse in between food, drink, and rock.
Neither Pearl Jam nor Eddie have any tour dates lined up right now. But you can bookmark their website and go to it when you hear rumors.
