Brittany Howard brings the soul, Stevie Nicks conjures the magic – Orange County Register
“It’s a beautiful day,” Brittany Howard told the crowd on day one of the three-day Ohana Festival at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point as she played her guitar and blinked into the sunset.
She was right. It was a glorious day: temperatures were in the upper 80’s, there was a cool breeze, the sun was shining. It was a marked departure from last year’s Ohana’s kick-off, when a random rain and thunderstorm caused a temporary evacuation of the festival. Under a few puffy clouds in the sky, music fans showed up eager and ready to enjoy the weather, the music and each other.
People gathered on the sand to play games and cruise the makeshift boardwalk for festival swag and snacks. They also participated in a variety of panel discussions with conservationists, environmentalists, researchers and professional surfers on the Storytellers Stage, which also included several art galleries.
They danced to the tunes emanating from the two alternating main stages, which featured earlier sets from The Alive, Beach Goons, Habibi, Dope Lemon, Cautious Clay and St. Paul & The Broken Bones.
Howard delivered a moving set. The crowd sang along with her to covers of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” and Nina Simone’s “Revolution” and cheered her as she sang “13th Century Metal” while passionately repeating/reminding, ” We are all brothers and sisters.”
Louisiana rock band The Revivalists brought some sax to the beach and grooved the venue with their hit “Wish I Knew You,” and Texas trio Khruangbin impressed with their moody funk and songs like “August 10” and one mixed with instrumentals Usage of parts of well-known songs like “Misirlou” by Dick Dale, “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak and “Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang” by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Friday’s headliner Stevie Nicks brought some magic to the beachfront location. As the waves lapped the shore, Nicks enchanted Ohana with an adorable set full of hits and facts she was keen to share with the crowd.
Did you know that Nicks hasn’t gone to bed before 8 a.m. in almost three decades? She shared this before a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth. When she’s feeling drained as she writes, she says she still pulls her mattress out of the frame, puts it on the floor, and covers it with beautiful linens and paper flowers to take her back to 1973, before she was “famous.” and rich”. She said.
She also admitted there’s one song she cranks up when she’s getting ready for the stage: Pink’s single “Try.” Nicks said she makes it “super loud on repeat,” noting that Pink, who closes Ohana on Sunday, was in attendance and said she adored her as she dedicated the song “Landslide” to her. She also called festival curator and Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder “sneaky” for suddenly appearing onstage to sing Tom Petty’s vocal parts on Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.
“We should always remember Eddie Vedder in our hearts for making this possible,” Nicks said towards the end of the set.
During “Gold Dust Woman,” she twirled the stage, and the audience sang along to a cover of Petty’s “Free Fallin’.” She rocked through “Edge of Seventeen” and closed the first day of Ohana with Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon”.
The sixth annual Ohana continues throughout the weekend with performances from Vedder, Jack White, Billy Strings, Manchester Orchestra, Pink, St Vincent, Dermot Kennedy, Grouplove, Broken Social Scene and more.
Ohana festival
When: 30 Sept
Where: Doheny State Beach, Dana Point
Likewise: 1st-2nd October at noon at Doheny State Beach, 25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point. Day tickets range from $159 to $499 at ohanafest.com.
https://www.ocregister.com/2022/10/01/ohana-2022-brittany-howard-brings-the-soul-stevie-nicks-conjures-the-magic/ Brittany Howard brings the soul, Stevie Nicks conjures the magic – Orange County Register