By Anthony Small
A major thread in the fabric of Dana Point’s musical identity is Ohana Festival, rocking Doheny State Beach for the sixth time this weekend.
Headliners include Stevie Nicks on Friday, Jack White and host Eddie Vedder on Saturday, and Pink on Sunday. The whole lineup is stacked, and I know it’s gonna ROCK, literally from the first notes of The Alive through Pink’s inevitable encore.
Friday, don’t miss Brittany Howard and Khruangbin. Saturday, catch Inhaler, whose debut album It Won’t Always Be Like This entered the UK chart at No. 1, with Elijah Hewson, son of U2’s Bono, out front. Also Saturday, see 2022 Americana Awards Artist of the Year Billy Strings—it just does not stop.
If you’re attending on Sunday, do not miss St. Vincent, whose album Daddy’s Home won the Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album this year. Bomba Estéreo, from Colombia, is a must-see whose smash collab “Ojitos Lindos” with Bad Bunnyhas accumulated more than 800 million total streams.
Fresh off their performance at Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky, local rockers The Alive are looking forward to opening the festival on Friday at high noon.
Bastian Evans, on guitar and vocals, shared, “We had such a blast playing and surfing at Ohana 2018, and we’re so stoked to be back.”
Check out the group’s Instagram @the.alive for more info.
I want to thank Live Nation and Ohana Festival, which sponsored Music Preserves Foundation’s Summer Jams Concert series with Ocean Institute. We featured interviews and performances of New Orleans Jazz with The Gumbo Brothers and Americana Bluegrass with Moonsville Collective.
Big thanks to our community, which supported the events and the City of Dana Point and Station Craft Brewery + Kitchen for their incredible support. Find more information at musicpreserves.org.
Thank you also to Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation for its generous donation to Music Preserves to support our American Music History programs in the schools and community. Vitalogy Foundation supports nonprofit organizations working in the fields of community health, the environment, arts and education and social change.
Gracias, Ohana Festival, and its incredibly generous cohorts for directly supporting local nonprofits such as Doheny State Beach Foundation, San Onofre Parks Foundation, and so many others. More info can be found at pearljam.com/vitalogy.
Speaking of impactful work, the Dana Point Woman’s Club is hosting “Cocktails for a Cause” on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 5-8 p.m. at Aventura Sailing Club. The event will benefit SparkPoint, a United Way OC program aimed at preventing homelessness through a financial literacy program at RH Dana Elementary.
Hors d’oeuvres, no-host bar, silent auction/raffles, and acoustic original songs and covers will be played by yours truly. This event is almost sold out. Get more info: danapointwomansclub.org/our-events/.
Congratulations to Dana Point’s Louie Pérez and his Los Lobos bandmates for being honored by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation’s 35th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards.
This program was created by the White House to commemorate the establishment of Hispanic Heritage Month and is among the highest honors by Latinos for Latinos, supported by 40 Hispanic-serving institutions. The program airs on Friday, Sept. 30, on PBS. More info can be found at hispanicheritage.org.
Dana Point Sister Cities’ inaugural Dana Point Plein Air Festival Exhibit event at Gallery Dana Bay last week was an incredible success. The exhibit, in partnership with Dana Point Arts Alliance, will run through Oct. 9. While there, make sure to see fabulous artwork by Bernie Taupin and even a Renoir sculpture. Find more info at danapointsistercities.org.
When the time comes, please vote yes on Proposition 28, which provides additional funding for arts and music education in public schools. Check out voteyeson28.org for more info.
Anthony Small is Executive Director and cofounder of Music Preserves Foundation, a local musician and Ambassador of Music for Dana Point Sister Cities International. Small and his family have lived in Dana Point for 25 years.
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