Activism takes center stage at the Ohana Festival
Photo by Britney Henderson, News Editor
Eighty-degree weather in September and proximity to the ocean are proof that summer never ends in California, especially when you're at the Ohana Festival. This year, from Sept. 26 to Sept. 28, people gathered at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point to unite activism and music.
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and the band's manager Mark Smith founded the music festival in 2016 with a surf-sustainable goal in mind. Continuing true to its vision of conservation, the Ohana Festival lineup is filled with musicians promoting causes including and beyond environmentalism.
Friday
I was thrilled to get to the festival midway through the set of Spanish rock group Hinds, a band I had not heard of prior to researching the festival.
The all-female group has had a long encounter with adversity in band dynamics and sexism in the music industry. However, they are notable for not incorporating such messages into their songs, but rather view their existence as enough proof to overcome diversity.
In addition to playing originals off of the band's four albums, they covered Charli xcx’s “Girl, so confusing.” But they closed in their true Madrid style, with their only song completely in Spanish, “En Forma.”
Later that night, ‘90s alt-rock band Garbage continued the feminist tone.
Lead singer Shirley Manson acknowledged the struggles she faced in the music industry as the frontwoman of a 1990s rock band. However, she pointed out Stereophonics member Kelly Jones, who had played on stage before them, as one of the first men to take her seriously.
Manson also offered her perspective on society today.
“I don’t need to be the one to tell you how crazy our world is,” Manson said. “It’s fucking bonkers…We have so much hate, we need more fucking love.”
Vedder headlined the first night with his band The Earthlings, which includes Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and The Frames guitarist Glen Hansard, among others.
Vedder explained the process of the group originally getting together to just play music, then progressing to recording an album.
“I was looking for something — the kind of ultimate inclusive (term) with no divisiveness — and I thought, ‘earthlings,’” said Vedder. “No borders, no race, no sexual orientation. I identify as an earthling.”
The Earthlings incorporated their all-inclusive theme several times throughout their set, playing the chorus of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
“Music is power, music has power and you should be responsible with that music,” said Vedder.
Saturday
On day two, I started in an area of the festival I had not yet explored: The Cove.
The Cove included an art gallery, tabling for local initiatives and a storyteller stage that held conversations with local activists all weekend.
I sat in on “Waves of Change,” which was a discussion among pro-surfers who are using their platforms and knowledge to share environmental and safety concerns regarding the ocean.
Jon Rose, founder of Waves for Water, which strives to bring clean drinking water to communities worldwide, explained how he applied his mindset when surfing to his foundation.
“It is like competing against the cause itself,” said Rose. “I want to beat it.”
Additionally, onstage with Rose were Greg Long and Frank Solomon, who each work to improve the safety and lives of the communities in their hometowns.
Long works with Surfrider to promote coastal health, but has more recently been working along the California coast as an instructor for Big Wave Risk Assessment Group, teaching how to prevent and provide aid in emergency situations on the surf.
Solomon, who grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, works with at-risk kids living on the South African coast as the founder of Sentinel Ocean Alliance. From teaching kids how to swim to beach clean-ups, Sentinel Ocean Alliance is all about education and opportunities centered on the water.
Back in the music scene, one of the most lively crowds of the weekend for a non-headliner was for Rainbow Kitten Surprise. The band was greeted with a swarm of pride flags in the audience, a reflection of their support and advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights and health.
The band had released their sixth album, “Bones,” the day prior to their appearance at the festival.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise began partnering with non-profit PLUS1 in 2019 for part of the band's sales to benefit various LGBTQ+, mental health and natural disaster resources.
Many of the band's songs are inspired by lead singer Ela Melo’s journey of transitioning and battling mental health issues of her own. Two popular tracks they played were “Painkillers,” about fighting suicidal thoughts, and “Goodnight Chicago,” which references killing someone or some version of oneself.
The audience's pride flags returned later that night and were accompanied by Irish flags for headliner Hozier.
The alt-rock artist opened with “Nobody’s Soldier,” a song that critiques capitalism and warfare as the only two options of society. Being “nobody’s soldier” is a comment on not becoming a cog in the societal machine.
He continued with tones of non-violence and societal critique with “Eat Your Young." The song’s message is about the greed of industries and exploiting younger generations for gain.
Hozier enhanced the song's impact with graphics behind him, tallying the number of children displaced and total deaths due to war and conflict in recent years, as well as the number of homeless by country and globally. This was then contrasted as the screens switched to counting global military spending and the wealth of the five wealthiest individuals.
Before playing “Nina Cried Power,” Hozier took a moment to address the song's inspiration from the Irish Civil Rights Movement and current worldly conflicts.
“It's so easy to forget how much work had to be put in (to earn human rights),” Hozier said. “And how easy these things can be stripped away.”
“I’ve been inviting and encouraging people to use their democratic voices, use their free speech, use their body power, use their votes to support any way they can (for) peace, safety and security for everybody in the Middle East,” he said. “At the core of it, I believe people are good, they have generous hearts, and they would want to see human beings live in peace, safety and security.”
Hozier concluded the night with “Take Me to Church,” a critique of religious institutions that do not accept the LGBTQ+ community, and unveiled a pride flag hanging from his microphone stand.
Sunday
On day three, the music genre intensified, but messages remained the same.
English rock band High Vis preached messages of community between hardcore punk songs about inequality, trauma and belonging.
“Set aside your differences,” said lead singer Graham Sayle. “We all want the same thing.”
And what the crowd wanted today was to close out the final day of Ohana Festival with some true rock music.
After High Vis, Amanda Reckonwith was to perform, but it turned out to be a ploy Vedder created to spend some more stage time with Hansard. Vedder said he got the idea from when artists check into hotels under fake names, saying Pete Townshend of The Who used “Amanda Reckonwith” for many tours.
“What I really want to thank you for is making me feel like humans are good,” Vedder said in response to the audience’s reaction to his surprise appearance.
In between songs, Vedder also took the chance to acknowledge Paul Watson, an anti-whaling activist and Sea Shepherd founder. Watson had spoken on the storytellers stage at previous Ohana Festivals, but was arrested in Greenland in July 2024. Vedder wasn’t going to let his imprisonment go without notice — he promoted a petition through the 2024 festival to free Watson.
“Sometimes conservationists are left on their own,” said Vedder. “But (the petition) worked, and after five months, he was released last (December).”
After Vedder and Hansard’s pseudonymous band, the music continued according to schedule.
The final headliner of the weekend was Green Day, who opened with their famous “American Idiot.” However, rather than the lyrics “I'm not a part of a redneck agenda,” lead singer Billy Joe Armstrong said, “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda,” something the band began in Jan. 2024 in protest of the Trump Administration and the “Make America Great Again” slogan.
They then played into “Holiday,” with Armstrong making a speech in the midst of the song.
“A new fascist America is here, and we’re gonna say no way,” said Armstrong. “We’re gonna say no secret police in the streets. We're gonna say no to ICE. We’re gonna say no to censorship.”
The band’s social commentary continued with “Know Your Enemy,” about refusing to remain quiet and obeying simply because you are told to do so.
Similarly, they played “Minority,” about not only welcoming minorities but wanting to be a part of one. This is everclear in the chorus, which says “I wanna be the minority, I don't need your authority, down with the moral majority, 'cause I wanna be the minority.”
Towards the end of the night, Armstrong dedicated one of their 2024 releases, “Bobby Sox,” to the LGBTQ+ community. The song reflects various sexual identities with the questions, “Do you wanna be my girlfriend?” “Do you wanna be my boyfriend?” and “Do you wanna be my best friend?” posed in the song.
Green Day’s appearance at the Ohana Festival concluded the festival and their Saviors tour, but they ensured fans they would be back with more music and, of course, their never-out-of-fashion ‘90s grunge sound.