If you’ve been to any forward-thinking live music and lifestyle festival within the last decade, you’ve likely witnessed the increasing proliferation of podcasters and speakers tied, often peripherally, to the sounds booked for its stages. Ohana Festival, however, goes out of its way to find focused storytellers deeply connected to the causes that its creators care about most, with issues of environmentalism and activism preeminent among them. A multi-stage weekend event representing the partnership between Live Nation, Eddie Vedder, and Pearl Jam manager Mark Smith held on the beaches of Dana Point, California since 2016, the event’s 2024 iteration will feature Pearl Jam, Devo, Alanis Morissette, Sting, Maren Morris, Dogstar (Keanu Reeves’ band), Jenny Lewis, Black Pumas, and more.
Taking place this weekend, the event’s Storyteller Stage embraces topics ranging from oceanic health and environmental justice to Indigenous voices and the soul of what true community means—in an ideal world and in reality—in the 21st century. “[It] provides a unique opportunity to shine the light on individuals, projects, and ideas which are shaping a better world,” says activist Michael Long, who curates an incredible collection of Storytellers speakers and panels each year. “The idea is to allow attendees to be inspired, and so it’s not always about knowledge or accolades; it’s really about hope and action and connecting humanity and our planet. The Storytellers aren’t just leading scientists, thought leaders, creators, and visionaries—they’re individuals who are a reflection of the movement Ohana Fest is a part of.”
Storytellers stage at Ohana 2023
Emily Benson runs Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that puts the band’s money where their mouth is by creating tangible positive change regarding Indigenous rights, environmental issues, and homelessness. Alongside Long, Benson also works on Ohana’s programming within The Cove, a special environmental area onsite. “The festival, from its very inception, was really committed to supporting local nonprofits and their activism,” says Benson. “Each year, the festival grows in how we’re doing that and Ohana looped in the Vitalogy Foundation (in 2021) to support that work more directly.”
“The Storytellers aren’t just leading scientists, thought leaders, creators, and visionaries—they’re individuals who are a reflection of the movement Ohana Fest is a part of.” — activist Michael Long
That support has come into clearer focus with a “boundary circle” geared toward the most important and beneficial aspects of the Storytellers Stage and the set of nonprofits it affects. For 2024, those nonprofits (both national and local) include California State Parks, Doheny State Beach, San Onofre Parks Foundation, Surfrider Foundation, Native Like Water, Ocean Institute, Planned Parenthood, Moms Demand Action, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, SeaLegacy, Surfers Healing, and Project RED. The latter foundation is focused on overdose care and Narcan usage and training, a cause that Pearl Jam welcomes to its stages while on tour to discuss its necessity.
Fest founder Eddie Vedder performing with The Strokes at Ohana 2019 / photo by Wilson Lee
To make certain that audiences listening to Ohana’s 2024 Storytellers (including filmmaker/SeaLegacy co-founder Paul Nicklen, conservationist Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier, and Urban Ocean founder/marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson) can concentrate on the causes, structural changes became necessary to make. “The biggest infrastructure change is that we now have shade over the Storytellers Stage, and more seating,” says Benson about the crucial comfort afforded this area. “Having more shade and more seating allows us to truly capture an audience to hear our panels. The Storyteller Stage is now a destination point within the fest. Folks here will wait and listen for hours and engage with this area until the headliners come on.”
The other big change to the fest this year is that its fundraising aspects have upped their game. Yes, Ohana ticket prices have always supported nonprofits, but the fest is now additionally holding auctions to further aid these organizations and providing more infrastructure and festival space for the sake of inspiration. “Over the last several years, we’ve introduced further opportunities for fundraising to try and provide even more financial support for these nonprofits,” says Benson. “So we offer things that can be a real benefit to festivalgoers, things that they wouldn’t normally get—such as a raffle for sitting in the artists-designated crows’ nest to watch the headliner. We’re also holding online auctions that are more geared toward and this year’s participating artists and storytellers.”
Photo by Lindsey Byrnes
“The Storyteller Stage is now a destination point within the fest. Folks here will wait and listen for hours and engage with this area until the headliners come on.” — Vitalogy Foundation’s Emily Benson
As for the entirety of the Ohana Fest and the Storyteller Stage’s speakers, Benson states that Ohana is looking to focus on the conditions of the oceans and our environment, as well as Indigenous people and the needs of those in the activist community.
To do this and more, Benson and her team benefit from the partnership with Long, a “gem of a human” tied to the most direct actions of his activists and speakers. Ask Long about how he has aided in the evolving of the Storytellers Stage to where it is now and he claims that any development is a reflection of the audience who attends Ohana Fest. “We focus on stories that reflect local and global topics, but through the lens of an individual,” says Long. “People are moved by people, and if we as individuals can tell a story that can send hope and inspiration rather than fear and despair, we have a chance to change the world. The pillars of oceans, activism, Indigenous voices, art, community, and environmental justice touch everyone.” FL
