Over 25,000 fans made their way to Doheny State Beach over the weekend to attend Eddie Vedder's annual three-day Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California.
On its third year, the festival has started to bring in a nice mix of genres, featuring artists like Eric Church, Norah Jones, Mumford and Sons, Young the Giant, Johnny Marr, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liz Phair, Switchfoot and so much more.
Those who were among the first to arrive were welcomed by Vedder himself with his best Beatles impression.
Check out his ukulele performance of "Here Comes the Sun."
Vedder hopped around the festival, popping up every so often for a feature during someone's performance (as a good host would). I think somewhere in the fine print, the festival agreement read, "Artists can play whatever they want, but Eddie Vedder has to be featured in at least one song per set."
Check out some of the highlights from the weekend:
FRIDAY
Eric Church
Country singer-songwriter Eric Church is the first mainstream country act to take the stage at Ohana Fest, and based on his stellar performance, he won’t be the last. Church came out solo and played an intimate acoustic set to start off the weekend.
He took fan requests, played some classics and even debuted some new music off his upcoming album Desperate Man, which drops October 5th.
Fans heard the new single and album’s title track, “Desperate Man,” as well as “A Mistress Named Music,” “Drink in My Hand,” “Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Mr. Misunderstood,” a fiery rendition of “Pledge Allegiance to the Hag” and a medley of Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock,” Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” Little Feat’s “Willin’” and Kenny Loggins’ “Danny’s Song.”
Check out his performance of "Hippie Radio:"
Norah Jones
As the sun set, Norah Jones came out and treated her fans to a collection of jams like “Sunrise,” “What am I to You?,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” a brand new song, “It Was You,” and of course It Was (a hit)! She also covered Jesse Harris’ “Don’t Know Why” and got the audience swaying along.
Though she hasn’t released an album since 2016, Jones has been busy putting out tons of new music. Over the past few months, she’s released a series of stand alone singles like “It Was You” and “My Heart is Full.” Her most recent release is “A Song With No Name,” which features Jeff Tweedy.
Take a listen:
Honorable mention: Nikki Lane
SATURDAY
Eddie Vedder
Vedder played a collection of Pearl Jam classics, covered Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen songs and even added some special surprises to his set. He played a stripped down version of Pearl Jam’s 1994 hit, “Better Man” and brought out the one and only, Liz Phair, to help him on vocals.
Check out this fan video of the performance below:
Johnny Marr
Later on, Vedder switched roles and guested in someone else’s set. The Smiths’ Johnny Marr brought Vedder out on stage for a rendition of “There is A Light That Never Goes Out” with Vedder jumping in for Morrissey.
Who sang it better? That’s for you to decide.
Honorable mention: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
SUNDAY
Mumford and Sons
Marcus Mumford provided fans with details about the band’s nearly-finished new album, Delta, that’s scheduled for release November 16th. The band played two new tracks, “Woman” and “Guiding Light,” and Mumford descended from the stage and into the crowd during “The Cave.”
For an encore, Mumford and Sons brought out (surprise!) Eddie Vedder for a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Check out that rock sesh below:
Young the Giant
Frontman Sameer Gadhia mentioned the band’s origins in the OC before busting into “Superposition” off their upcoming EP, Mirror Master. The Irvine natives are no strangers to headlining festivals, but they received a warm hometown welcome at Ohana Fest.
Fans experienced performances of “Something to Believe In,” “Mind Over Matter,” “Silvertongue,” “My Body” and “Amerika.” Check out their entire set below:
Mirror Master is out on October 12th.
Honorable mention: Switchfoot
