Eddie Vedder‘s annual Ohana Fest took place this past weekend in Dana Point, California featuring two nights of Pearl Jam and headline sets by Devo, Sting, Alanis Morissette, Maren Morris, Jenny Lewis, Turnpike Troubadours, and the Breeders.
Pearl Jam fanatics from all across the globe flocked to Dana Point for the festivities, and they were rewarded by the live debuts of super deep cuts “The Whale Song” and “Gremmie Out of Control” from the 1996 benefit LP, Music for Our Mother Ocean. The band also welcomed Liam Finn, Andrew Watt, Zack Irons, and Glen Hansard onto their stage.
But the most surprising moment of their 20-song set came during the first encore when Eddie Vedder brought his daughter Harper out. “We’ve had so much diversity on both these stages in the last few days,” he said. “And we just had special guest Andrew Watt playing guitar on ‘Rearviewmirror.’ I realized it had been a while since we had a powerful young woman up onstage with us. And so my pal Harper here is going to help me out.”
It initially seemed like they were singing a straightforward cover of Wayne Cochran’s 1961 teen tragedy “Last Kiss,” which Pearl Jam turned into a very unlikely hit in 1999. But after a single verse of “Last Kiss” by the elder Vedder, the younger one started singing a totally different song. “I’m five years old, it’s getting cold, I’ve got my big coat on,” she sang. “I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run.”
If there were any hardcore Swifties in the audience, they knew immediately it was “The Best Day” from Taylor Swift‘s 2008 album Fearless. And for the next few minutes, the Vedders created a very novel mashup of the two songs. The selection from Harper was especially appropriate for the occasion since Swift wrote it about the pure love she felt for her parents as a child.
“I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger,” Harper sang. “God smiles on my little brother, inside and out/He’s better than I am/I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run/And I had the best days with you.”
Pearl Jam wrapped up the fest by playing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Young was supposed to headline the second day of the festival, but he was forced to cancel in June when Crazy Horse were unable to finish their tour due to illness. Pearl Jam, meanwhile, have reached the end of their 2024 North American tour. They are headed to New Zealand and Australia in November for a run of stadium shows with the Pixies.
