Eddie Vedder’s Beachfront Celebration

“It was right out there that I caught my first wave, I was just a grom, 12 years old,” said Eddie Vedder, pointing proudly to the surf at Doheny State Beach. In addition to being a prime surf spot, it’s also the sentimental site for Ohana Festival, Vedder’s annual weekend full of music, storytelling, and environmental activism in Dana Point.

This year’s three-day festival (Sept. 26-28) was a feel-good feast of multiple genres of music, set amongst the crash of the waves — with swells good enough to attract a number of surfers catching waves behind the bleachers. Can they hear the music in the water, I wondered. I’m not really sure, but the “sand people” (as Vedder affectionately refers to the crowds of locals who set up chairs and listen to the shows just beyond the fenced area of paying customers) definitely can hear the incredible variety of bands Vedder curates year after year. 

Launched in 2016 with a vision of bringing together the music world and the environmental community, the festival was an immediate hit, with early lineups that included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Strokes, and Vedder’s surfing buddy, Jack Johnson, and proceeds benefitting the Doheny State Beach Foundation and the San Onofre Park Foundation. In addition to Vedder’s band Pearl Jam and Vedder himself, over the years headliners have included Sting (a highlight for me last year), Jack White, Pink, Elvis Costello, Stevie Nicks, and the Foo Fighters, amongst others. 

The 2025 lineup was equally impressive. I caught Lukas Nelson and his band the Spread Eagles the first night. The guy looks like a college professor (think Santa Barbara Poet Laureate David Starkey, only not so terrifically tall) so the countrified tunes were not what I expected. But he did a beautiful cover of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe,” with Eddie Vedder, and I was sold. 

One of the charms of this festival is that you never know when Vedder is going to show up on stage and talk or perform with someone. I was also quite enamored by the sign language interpretation going on for most of the major shows. The other big plus is that there are only two stages, and they don’t run shows simultaneously, so rather than the Sophie’s Choices you have to make between acts at some of the big festivals, at Ohana it is easy to see everyone on the bill if you want to.   

That first Friday night, we also saw Garbage, with frontwoman Shirley Manson just as fierce and feisty as she was when I saw her at the Bowl a couple years ago. Apparently Karen O from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was in the house, and Manson was one of several artists who mentioned what an honor it was to have the influential musician there. “Stupid Girl,” and “Only Happy When It Rains,” were among the nostalgic highlights of their set. 

Kings of Leon, who visited the Bowl in 2024, were up next. Apparently Vedder had been trying to get them to Ohana for the past nine years and finally did. Let me just say, a little sand in the toes is good for you and lead singer Caleb Followill was so much looser and more relaxed onstage than when I’d seen him before. I definitely liked the less buttoned up version. 

Topping the bill that night was Vedder himself fronting an amazing band called the Earthlings, which included the killer vocalist Glen Hansard (Once),  guitarist Andrew Watt, bass player Chris Chaney from Jane’s Addiction, and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and drummer Chad Smith, both from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (Klinghoffer is also now part of Pearl Jam). They covered songs from Led Zeppelin, DEVO, George Harrison, The Who, and Neil Young, as well as several from Pearl Jam. 

Rainbow Kitten Surprise was a fun highlight on Saturday, as was Leon Bridges, the Texas crooner who we’ve seen groove several times before at the Bowl. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier was the headliner that night and the 6’6” artist towered over the enthusiastic crowd with a beautifully voiced set list that included “Cherry Wine,” “Like Real People Do,” “Dinner & Diatribes,” and of course his breakout song, “Take Me to Church.”

We started our final day on Sunday with a super amusing set by Wet Leg. The Indie Brits, whose best known song is “Chaise Longue,” have a fun energy and lead singer Rhian Teasdale in particular has a hilarious dance style where you never know if she’s going to dance in circles, pounce, or drop to the floor — but it’s highly entertaining in any case. The reliably great Cage the Elephant was up next, with a set that included “Cold, Cold, Cold,” “Trouble,” “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” and “Come a Little Closer,”  among their many great songs. 

Musically, the whole festival was pretty awesome, but the highlight for me was the final set of the weekend, which was Green Day. Despite being a longtime fan, this was the first time I’d ever heard them live and they were incredible. Hyping up the crowd before their entrance with Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” complete with a costumed Drunk Bunny getting us all to sing and dance along, Green Day opened with “American Idiot” (and huge cheers to the lyrics “I’m not part of the MAGA agenda”) and jammed through a set that included “Holiday,” “Know Your Enemy,” “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” “21 Guns,” “When I Come Around,” “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” and so many more. I sang my heart out the whole time. And as they ended the show with “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” with drummer Tré Cool throwing a bucket full of confetti around to tumble his drum kit down — this was also the end of a two year tour for them — and I watched everyone singing along, I thought this really was the time of my life. 

I can’t wait for next year. 

For more information, see ohanafest.com.