As its seventh year approaches, the Ohana Festival has grown to become a globally recognized music and cultural event thanks to its unique artist collaborations that take place throughout its now annual three-day run at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.

It’s a smaller-scale festival space, with a capacity of just 15,000, that launched back in 2016 and blossomed out of a partnership between Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam manager Mark “Smitty” Smith and Southern California-based festival promoter Live Nation.

Though they continue to book top-tier acts — Pink, Mumford & Sons, Eric Church, Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Incubus, Stevie Nicks and Foo Fighters just to name a few — that could easily sell out arena or stadium shows on their own, Vedder & Co. are committed to maintaining the more intimate nature of the Ohana Festival and keep it exactly where it’s at, situated just steps from where the Pacific Ocean meets the sand in south Orange County.

“It’s sacred ground for us and just the history of it, with it being the first place Ed (Vedder) ever caught a wave,” Rich Best, president of booking at Live Nation California, said during a recent Zoom call ahead of Ohana returning to Dana Point on Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

“It just has this vibe and this spirit,” Best continued. “Obviously, it has grown and we’ve been asked many times about ‘Have you ever thought of expanding or changing sites?’ And, honestly, it’s just a hard ‘No.’ I don’t think Ohana would be Ohana if it was not right there.”

Lucky Number 7

For the 2023 edition, Friday, Sept. 29 will be headlined by The Killers with earlier sets by Haim, Father John Misty, Japanese Breakfast, Glen Hansard and more. Saturday, Sept. 30 will be topped by Vedder along with his all-star band The Earthlings and sets by The Chicks, The War on Drugs, Goose, Charley Crockett and others.

Foo Fighters will make their Ohana debut on Sunday, Oct. 1 along with Pretenders, The Backseat Lovers, Suki Waterhouse, Thee Sacred Souls and Deaf Charlie, the experimental rock project by Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament and ex-Fitz and The Tantrums drummer John Wicks, will play its first live show ever at the festival.

“I’m a little bit nervous, but I’m actually more excited about it than nervous because we had four rehearsals before I left,” Ament said during a recent phone interview while on the road with Pearl Jam. “When I get back, we’ll run through five more or so, but those guys are getting together once a week and going through stuff, so hopefully we’ll have a nice, tight little 40-minute set by the time Ohana happens.”

Wicks and Ament will be joined by composer and actor Marlon Grace, who appears on the songs “Losing My Mind” and “Something Real.” They’re also teaming up with some musicians from the University of Montana, where Wicks is an adjunct professor, to flesh out the very layered songs off of Deaf Charlie’s debut album, “Catastrophic Metamorphic,” which was released in June. According to Ament, this batch of tunes was created out of pure boredom during the pandemic as he and Wicks were hunkered down in their respective residences in Montana.

“We never thought we’d play any of this live,” he said with a laugh. “We’re leaning into the stuff that’s a bit more up-tempo. There are a couple of songs on the record we may leave off. If we were playing a club or something we could do it, but we’re are playing in the middle of the afternoon on the beach. That feels like it wants to be more up-tempo and we’re extending some stuff and for Marlon, we’re developing a couple of outros so he can do some more emcee work. That’s been the fun part, sort of reimagining these songs as live songs because they were straight up art projects.”

Ament has been to Ohana several times as both a performer and a fan. When Pearl Jam’s manager first inquired about Deaf Charlie performing just after Ohana in 2022, Ament said he declined, thinking there wouldn’t be enough time to finish the album and rehearse, while also being on the road with Pearl Jam.

“Then he called and I happened to be with John and I said ‘Hey, we just got asked to do Ohana again …’ and he just goes ‘(Heck) Yes!,’” he recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, well I’m only going to be available that week before.’ He said he’d get the band together and we’d be ready and now here we are.”

A unique experience

While fans will have the opportunity take in this debut performance of Deaf Charlie, there’s sure to be other surprises throughout the weekend. Ohana has become known for its one-of-a-kind moments and now fans expect that.

Through the years, Vedder has joined several of the acts on stage for songs including jumping on with Los Angeles punk band X early in the day for “The New World” back in 2016. Last year, he came out during Stevie Nicks’ turn to sing the late Tom Petty’s parts of “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” and the pair were joined by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell, who was also on the Ohana bill with his band The Dirty Knobs.

“I just got chills thinking about that,” Best said as he recalled the latter performance. “That’s not just a Ohana memory, that’s a moment in rock history. It was spiritual. It was amazing.”

Best credits those moments to Vedder’s backstage setup. Egos are set aside, he said, as the artist area is small and encourages a more communal and creative atmosphere.

“Those moments on stage, those happen organically at Ohana,” Best insists, noting that he and his team often look at the lineup ahead of time and just wonder what the possibilities could be. “They come totally from the artists and we, on the other side, we have no input in that. It’s not something you can really plan or create, it just has to happen. That’s thanks to the environment Eddie has created backstage, and it’s pure and something we’re incredibly proud of, too.”

At Ohana, there are three stages, including the Storytellers Stage, which is located within The Cove, a space dedicated to art exhibitions and panel discussions by conservationists, environmentalists, researchers, professional surfers and more. Ohana also brings out local food trucks and various other regional food and beverage vendors and sets up activations on the beach for fans to play yard games, pose for photo ops or just chill in Adirondack-style chairs on the sand as they enjoy the sunset and take in the various performances.

“I think Ed and Smitty have done a great job of keeping it a bit smaller because some festivals grow and grow and then you have no elbow room,” Ament said of the festival. “I also love all of the social awareness and environmental stuff, too. And the art, I do really love the galleries they’ve done the last couple of years. It’s just such a great place to be and play.”

Ohana Festival

When: 12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29-Sunday, Oct. 1

Where: Doheny State Beach, 25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point

Tickets: $174 single-day general admission; $549 single-day VIP admission; $479 three-day general admission; $1,499 three-day VIP admission; $15-$39 shuttle passes; $180 premium three-day parking passes. All passes are available at ohanafest.com.

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