The last day of Ohana Festival 2024 had the warmest weather out of the three days, but there were plenty of artists on the lineup to watch and feel cool. Asides from the music, the vibes at Ohana were still chill with the amazing backdrop of the Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, and some of the friendliest and upbeat festivalgoers one could possibly meet. Sunday’s music acts include Kim Gordon, Alanis Morissette and Pearl Jam’s second set of the weekend to close out the festival.
John Cruz
The first main stage act was Hawaiian singer/songwriter, John Cruz. The set was just Cruz and an acoustic guitar as he sang plenty of island-style tunes. This was the perfect artist to have at a festival taking place right on the beach with the main incentive to preserve the oceans and environment. With a majestic nylon string guitar, Cruz’s set was a breezy ease into the start of the day and helped set the Ohana spirit.
Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
On the Tiki stage was the Australian rock band, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers. They get the award for having the best band name on the entire lineup, hands down. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers had a wonderfully fun and spunky set. They had a similar vibe to the UK band Wet Leg with crunchy guitars and punchy tunes. The songs were very catchy and had tons of attitude from tracks like “Girl Sports” and “Salt.” There were even points during the set where the crowd was clapping along and catching onto the choruses to singalong.
La Santa Cecilia
Back on the main stage was La Santa Cecilia from Los Angeles, California. They are a Spanish group known for their cumbia, boleros, and bossa nova infused music. It was nice seeing the Ohana Festival not only spotlighting local talent, but also highlighting other cultures. A highlight from watching La Santa Cecilia was hearing a Latin-swing rendition of The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever.” It’s always a fun set to watch when you look at the American Sign Language interpreter grooving along to the music as they interpret. Towards the end of the set, the singer mentioned that the entire band came from proud families of immigrants and it was encouraging to see the crowd respond with supportive cheers.
Kim Gordon
With a rather early set in the day on the Tiki stage was legendary artist, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth fame. Before Gordon and her band started playing, Eddie Vedder walked out on stage to introduce Kim by explaining how important of an artist she is and how grateful he was to have her perform at his festival. Gordon’s solo music is definitely more experimental and artsy than the music she was making with Sonic Youth, so it might be a turnoff to some, but Gordon is one of those artists that shouldn’t be put in a box to understand her art. It’s best to just accept the songs she makes and let it take over. On stage, Gordon is very nonchalant and plays it cool, but it is incredibly fun and rather refreshing to witness. Gordon and her band played songs from her latest album, The Collective. Many of the songs had a rumbling bass, blown out drums, and some avant-garde guitar playing.
La Lom
The next group on the main stage was another band from Los Angeles, La Lom, or the Los Angeles League of Musicians. This trio is known for their Spanish-style instrumental songs with funky bass, infectious guitar melodies, and spicy drums. This set was a shimmery, relaxing 45-minutes that felt like the Latin version of Khruangbin. Whether one was in the crowd swaying along to the music or relaxing on a beach towel towards the back, La Lom brought the heat, instrumentally speaking.
Peter Cat Recording Co.
The Indian alt-rock band, Peter Cat Recording Co., from Delhi was next to perform on the Tiki stage. Sunday was the day of the Ohana Festival that showcased the biggest array of cultures from different parts of the world. Their set was a ton of fun with all the different instruments they played such as a harmonium which is similar to an accordion except it stands vertically on a table rather than being held close to the chest. The harmonium sounds similar to an accordion too, but it was used to create lush beds of sounds for each song to blend into. Aside from the bass being a bit loud in the mix during some of their set, Peter Cat Recording Co. were fantastic and represented the Indian rock community extremely well.
The Breeders
The younger crowd might know The Breeders as the band that opened for Olivia Rodrigo on the Guts tour. But the crowd at Ohana Festival recognized The Breeders to be one of the pioneers of the alternative-rock scene in the 90s. With hits like “Divine Hammer” and “Cannonball,” it’s evident how impactful The Breeders’ music has been on artists that have come after them like The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This set solidified how fantastic of a live unit they still are and how many die-hard fans are still supporting The Breeders to this very day. Kim Deal had plenty of fun, upbeat energy rocking out in her comfortable Hoka shoes. Deal also noticed how many IDLES shirts there were in the crowd and how she was excited to catch their set which is such a high compliment coming from a legend such as Kim Deal.
IDLES
Easily the heaviest set of the entire weekend belongs to the English punk-rock band, IDLES. The band came blazing out of the gates with such brutally fierce and abrasive energy that had the crowd all riled up. With Joe Talbot’s husky vocals, the sludge-heavy guitars and explosive drums, this IDLES set was one of the most memorable performances out of all Ohana Festival. In general, Ohana Festival is not known for moshing, but the crowd during IDLES was an exception. It’s almost a disservice to not mosh while watching IDLES perform. This set may have been dangerous to those wearing flip flops at the festival, but the crowd who was ready for a good time definitely showed up. Although the music was intense, the most punk thing IDLES did during their set was chant “Ceasefire now!” at the end.
Alanis Morissette
At the sunset timeslot was the incomparable, Canadian singer/songwriter, Alanis Morissette. With a video intro displaying her incredible career and influence over the years, not just in music, but in pop culture in general, this set was guaranteed to be a memorable one. She opened the set with the massive hit, “Hand in My Pocket” from the timeless record, Jagged Little Pill. The crowd knew the lyrics like the back of their hand and kept that same energy for the rest of the set. As a performer, Alanis still has that fierce and powerful stage presence that made her such an icon when she first started releasing music in the 90s. Her voice is as strong and distinct as ever, her songwriting is still razor sharp, and her harmonica playing skills are through the roof. This blast from the past set was magical, as Alanis and her dynamic backing band chugged through tracks like “All I Really Want,” “You Oughta Know,” and “Uninvited.” There was a cheeky little lyric change during “Ironic” that stood out where she sang, “It’s meeting the man of my dreams, then meeting his beautiful husband.”
Pearl Jam
The last set of the festival was from Eddie Vedder and company, Pearl Jam. This was the band’s second set of the weekend so it was exciting to see how this set would differ from Friday night. Starting at 8PM, the band opened the set with “Garden” from Ten, setting the tone for the rest of the night. They kept the party going with “Off He Goes” from No Code. Judging from the first two tracks of the set, this was going to be one for the real Pearl Jam fans with plenty of deep cuts.
Similar to Friday’s set, the band was just as heavy with pounding drums, Eddie’s rugged vocals, and so many guitar solos. If it’s one thing Pearl Jam does not play around with, it’s how much they let Mike McCready shred on guitar. There was a guitar solo that felt 20-minutes long on “Better Man,” but the crowd loved every single guitar lick, every note bend, every single moment. And McCready looked like he could have kept going because he was also rocking out in some comfortable Hoka shoes.
With this being the second Pearl Jam set of the weekend, it was wild to see all the signs in the crowd from fans saying this was their 30th or more time seeing the band perform. Just from this weekend alone, it’s evident that witnessing Pearl Jam live feels like a religious experience for die-hard fans. Each setlist is unique, the band plays at the highest caliber, and Eddie always has an entertaining rant or two during each set.
Sunday’s Vedder rant was geared towards politics and how a certain presidential candidate was selling expensive watches to support his campaign. He emphasized how ridiculous it was to be selling an item meant to tell time when this current election cycle is all about precious time and that “We’re not going to take this bullshit anymore. We need lifting, not grifting.”
The encore songs were truly special as Vedder brought out his daughter, Harper, to sing with him on a mashup of “Last Kiss / The Best Day.” It was a cute moment being able to share the stage with his daughter, almost passing the torch of music to the next generation. Vedder can easily create a metaphor for any situation in life and connect it with the ocean. He mentioned that the Doheny State Beach was the first place he ever caught a wave while surfing when he was 12, and now, it is the first place his daughter caught her first wave, metaphorically speaking, on stage.
For the next song, Vedder brought out Glen Hansard who performed the day before at the festival to play “Song of Good Hope.” And then, possibly the most exciting song of the night was the live debut of “Gremmie Out of Control” from Lost Dogs with a little help from Brendan O’Brien. Similar to Friday’s set, Pearl Jam had a giant singalong to end the night with a cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Ending the festival with this song felt more relevant than ever with lyrics like “Got a man of the people says keep hope alive, Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive.”
Pearl Jam Setlist
- Garden
- Off He Goes
- Last Exit
- Mind Your Manners
- Given to Fly
- React, Respond
- Running
- MFC
- Wreckage
- Big Wave
- I Got Id
- Black
- Won’t Tell
- Better Man
- Rearviewmirror (with Andrew Watt)
- Last Kiss / The Best Day (with Harper Vedder, mash up with Taylor Swift’s “The Best Day”)
- Song of Good Hope (with Glen Hansard)
- Gremmie Out of Control (with Brendan O’Brien)
- Alive
- Rockin’ in the Free World (Neil Young cover)
Photo Credit: Alyssa Fried
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