For the last three years, I have found my Gen X happy place out on Doheny Beach at the Ohana Fest.
Started in 2015 by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, the Ohana Festival is a music festival unlike any other I’ve been to. It finds its origins in Vedder’s commitment to beach preservation, with proceeds from ticket sales going to the Surfrider Foundation as well as both the San Onofre Parks and Doheny State Beach Foundations. Each year, Vedder and the event programmers invite an eclectic assortment of musicians to play the festival’s dual stages for a full weekend right at the beginning of Fall.
For me, what started as a one day experience to see My Morning Jacket and Vedder solo has now become a full weekend affair. Right as the first quarter comes to an end, and the stress of the school year begins to start the burnout process, Ohana Fest has become the place I go to recharge my batteries.
This year’s lineup is proving to be one of the best in the festival’s history, with each day jam packed with some surprising, and some surprisingly huge artists.
Friday is dominated by indie rock legends and current icons. The headliner is none other than 2000s indie rock legends the Killers, who are joined by L.A. sister trio HAIM, Father John Misty, and Japanese Breakfast.
Saturday will be dominated by eclectic choices, from jam band Goose to modern rock masters The War on Drugs all the way to country all-timers the Chicks before Vedder and his band The Earthlings close out the night.
To close out the weekend, Sunday is all about the rock, with classic rockers the Pretenders and the Foo Fighters taking the stage.
For me, it’s like someone did an inception in my brain and pulled out a dream festival lineup.
I can’t wait. In the meantime, here are six songs from the artists playing this weekend to make you wish you were there with me.
“All These Things That I’ve Done” – The Killers
If there’s a song by the Killers that I have to hear on Friday night, it’s this one. “All These Things That I’ve Done” feels like a 70s new wave anthem that has been dragged down a rocky country dirt road. Brandon Flowers’ vocals are rough and cool and ragged. And I challenge anyone to find a cooler use of a church choir than the one that kicks in for the song’s bridge. “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier” is such a cheesy lyric, but on this track it sounds super profound, and I’ll chant right along with any crowd until I’m hoarse.
“Goodbye Earl” – The Chicks
This song is a master class of storytelling in song. Plus, it’s so dark and morbid and funny. I mean, the Chicks found a way to make us laugh during a song about spousal abuse. There’s nothing funny about that, yet as Natalie Maines says “Those black eyed peas taste alright to me,” I can’t help but crack up at her delivery and sheer audacity. The Chicks are on a list of bands I’ve always wanted to see, and while there are songs by them I love far more than “Earl” (like “Travelin’ Soldier” off their third album), I can’t imagine there will be a more fun, or cathartic song on Saturday night than “Goodbye Earl” as the crowd erupts into a sing-a-long of “Nah nah nah nah nah nah nahhhhhh.”
“The Glass” – Foo Fighters
While The Chicks are a band I’ve been waiting a long time to see, I’ve had the opportunity to see the Foo Fighters a number of times. Before the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins, the Foos were touring pretty much every year. After a hiatus and a search for a new drummer, Dave Grohl and his bandmates are back on the road, touring on their best album since 2011’s “Wasting Light.” “But Here We Are,” their latest album, is packed with some of the strongest songs of Grohl’s career, and “The Glass” is the true standout. This song is so earnest, it could bring the toughest biker dude (and there are lots of them at Foo Fighter shows) to tears as Grohl sings “I had a vision of you, and just like that/I was left to live without it.” I know I’m a bit choked up.
“Strangest Thing” – The War on Drugs
If you’ve ever read one of my Vibes, you know The War on Drugs are not strangers to this space. Their indie take on 80s classic rock evokes a mix of Springsteen, U2, Bruce Hornsby, and Genesis that hits the sweet spot of my brain’s pleasure center. And while I saw them a couple years back at Desert Daze, I’m holding out hope that they sacrifice a couple of their current popular songs for this one off of “A Deeper Understanding,” their underappreciated 2017 album. The melody on this one is transcendent, especially when the electric guitar kicks in over a wave of synth. Put this one on late at night and let it take you places.
“Ballad of a Dying Man” – Father John Misty
Like with the War on Drugs, Father John is also no stranger to these parts. The oddball singer/songwriter who is currently touring an album that plays like a modern bit of vaudeville, has taken a lot of different forms over the years. He’s been a troubadour, a joker, a lover, a contrarian, a depressive. On “Ballad of a Dying Man,” he’s in full jester mode with a song that sounds so sincere as he takes down the hubris of a generation obsessed with social media. His title character is just hoping for a few more moments to stick it to the “idiots, dilettantes, and fools” he loves to troll online. After all, when he’s gone, who is going to be there to keep them in check? But even if you don’t care about the postmodern satire, stay for the beautiful tune, which will still have you humming, even as you wonder if this guy is too pretentious for his own good.
“The Steps” – HAIM
Maybe the Haim sisters are way too inspired by 1970s Laurel Canyon pop. They have gone into the musical thrift store and thrown a massive amount of influences in the shopping cart. Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Electric Light Orchestra, Neil Young, James Taylor, Carole King . . . you name it, they’ve worn it. But does it matter when they can write a song as infinitely catchy as “The Steps,” the lead single off their 2021 album “Women In Music Pt. III”? I don’t think so, because I’m going to sing along to it, even if I feel like it was ripped off from an 8-track left in someone’s recently unearthed time capsule.
