Just nine miles away from our campus, a three day music festival takes place annually at Doheny State Beach. Ohana Festival brings sights, sounds and community together. Many of our students here attend each year. 

The three day event was hosted on September 26-28th 2025. Ran by the lead singer of Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder who curates the whole experience. Vedder has been running the festival since 2016 alongside his manager Mark Smith and Live Nation, a multinational company that hosts live music events. 

The goal of Ohana Festival is to gather people at the beachfront to celebrate music, surf life, and environmental activism. This involves a focus on community, sustainability and philanthropy. 

Students who attend the festival tend to have not as high expectations in size and scope compared to a festival such as Coachella or Stagecoach, but end up having just as much fun.  

“I thought it was gonna be pretty fun. I didn’t think it was gonna be like as big as it was. It was like huge,” said Jenna Novick (11). 

This year the festival brought major headliners. Including Eddie Vedder and Earthlings, Kings of Leon, Hozier, Leon Bridges, Cage the Elephant and Green Day. The overall favorite headliner from students that attended was Cage the Elephant. As a special surprise, Eddie Vedder did an acoustic set on Sunday night. 

What’s worth noting is that people were not just there for the headliners. Other acts festival attendees were excited to see were Royel Otis and Garbage among others. 

Music was not the only thing that brought people together. Ohana festival brings speakers – referred to as “Storytellers” – to the festival grounds who hold talks “dedicated to the core pillars of Ohana Fest: oceans, activism, environmental justice, art, community and indigenous voices,” according to the Ohana Festival website. 

Building community is essential to the Ohana festival culture. People were kind and respectful, which cultivated a welcoming environment. 

“The culture was great, especially in the other teens there. There was one younger girl who happened to be standing on the edge of a mosh pit in the crowd and we all made sure she didn’t get hurt while we were moshing during Green Day, and when the moshing died down everyone made sure to give her space to see the stage clearly. It was a great example of kindness while also having the regular fun of a concert, “ Goncalves (12).

From headlining stars to immersive talks, Ohana Festival lets people experience community and culture to its highest form.