Rapid Happiness Alert: Headliners Announced For Eddie’s Ohana Festival
Staff writer: Corinne Devin Sullivan
I woke up this morning happy. Official announcements I had been waiting for were, well, official: 2023’s Ohana Festival line-up! I tried to brush my hair. It’s getting longer. Looks more and more like Eddie Vedder circa 1991 when I fall out of bed. Distracted, I cartwheeled into my home office. It was time to find that brand-new Sharpie and high-lighter packet and write in big BIG orange and yellow lettering “OHANA FESTIVAL” on the 2023 calendar, then color it in with palm trees and fuzzy waves, all across Friday, 29 September, Saturday, 30 September, and Sunday, 1 October.
Ohana Festival is the 2015 love-child of Pearl Jam’s awesome vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, Mr. Eddie Vedder. In Earth’s atmosphere, his dream is now a solidifying perennial located forever forever upon the surfy beaches of Dana Point, San Diego. I am predicting California shall be weather-perfect on September 2023’s final weekend, and I simply can’t wait.
Sifting through social media details, more than ever I felt awe for Vedder’s human realness—for all that is the persona, and the man himself, Eddie. Dictionary.com translates the Hawaiian word Ohana to “a person’s extended family, which can include friends and other important social groups”. This year, thirty-three talented Eddie Vedder kinsfolk (bands and headliners) have been invited, along with 20,000 concert go’ers. Frankly, there’d be 200,000 of us if a whiz with a measuring stick was engaged.
Something more binding, perhaps, is what Vedder’s Ohana means. The yin and yang of human responses comprise this year’s headliners. We will be immersed within dramatic shadings of both male and female personalities: Friday, 29 September, it is both The Killers and Haim who will crown the night. On Saturday, 30 September, the sunny day will be crescented by Eddie Vedder himself, along with (incredibly joyfully and surprisingly) The Chicks. Sunday, 1 October, will be a star-studded night with both Foo Fighters and Pretenders.
Any beach offers sand between your toes. Any music-frantic beachcomber can pick up Ohana Festival’s general admission ticket.
But I am considering VIP Admission. It looks like Hawaii’s Hanalei Bay.
The fun-packed VIP Ohana tote will be dangling on my shoulder, and I will be lounging on hammocks or inside shaded cabanas with VIP views. It is enough enticement to say, “Yes, please!”
There’s another ten to twenty-five feet more fun to be had upon the salty, VIP bleachers: first-class (and dedicated) ingress/egress, complimentary gourmet bites by a local chef, complimentary acai bowls, air-conditioned (and premium) bathrooms, secure VIP lockers to stash whatever I acquire at dedicated in-lounge merchandise stands, free photo booth opportunities to capture facsimiles of those three days of music bliss, forever! Enough good stuff to permanently twist my sunburned cheeks into permanent smiles so I, too, can look like Eddie Vedder!
If I want to feel freaking fanatically as fantastic as Vedder, I can venture into the Ultimate VIP experience. Such fun sideshow thrills are promised as: a 4-night stay at the Laguna Cliffs Resort & Spa with Saturday’s complimentary brunch, access to the backstage artist guest lounge, $200 food and beverage credits, $200 merchandise stand credits, one Limited Edition Ohana 2023 Poster autographed by Eddie Vedder, the Earthling LP signed by Vedder, two Limited Edition Keepsake Laminates, and (just to make sure I keep up with the weekend’s schedule so that I have nothing to sigh about on Monday morning) an Ultimate VIP Concierge to assist with any of my festival needs for three days.
Mr. Eddie Vedder, of the world-famous rock band Pearl Jam, started the Ohana Festival in 2015. In its eighth year, it’s brighter, bigger and more brilliant than ever. I wouldn’t miss it. Make sure to check out the details. You can purchase tickets and find out everything at ohanafest.com!