THROUGH THE LENS: The Ohana and Sing Out Loud Fests Highlight Roots Music & Social Awareness

This week the column features two fests at opposite ends of the country, Sing Out Loud (St. Augustine, Florida, September 21 and 22) and the Ohana Festival  (Doheny Beach State Park, Dana Point, California, September 27-29, 2024). Fortunately, Sing Out Loud was held before hurricanes Helene and Milton hit the state. Our hearts go out to those who are continuing to suffer the effects of those terrible storms.

Both fests were founded in 2016 and, as described below, supplement the music with social and environmental awareness. ND regulars Peter Dervin and Liza Orozco attended Ohana, and Kim Reed covered Sing Out Loud. Their fabulous photos are in the gallery below.

Sing Out Loud 2024 

Created by St. Johns County Cultural Events in 2016, Sing Out Loud has become an annual celebration of regional music in historic St Augustine, Florida. Taking place over multiple weekends in September the event features hundreds of local singers, songwriters, and musicians from an array of genres, from indie rock to bluegrass. 

While this year’s event was held September 6-29, 2024, the marquee weekend was the two-day Live Wildly Showcase at Francis Field on September 21 and 22 with headliners Sierra Ferrell, Molly Tuttle, and Norah Jones.   

But Sing Out is more than a music festival, as Kim Reed, who was there, told me: “This year, Sing Out Loud paired up with the Florida Live Wildly Foundation to increase awareness and involvement regarding the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The corridor is an 18 million acre wildlife ‘superhighway’ that runs north-south through the center of the state. Proceeds from the festival this year added over $160,000 to the coffers for the specific purpose of purchasing land for conservation in St. Johns County.”

Reed added, “Besides enjoying giant inflatable panthers, manatees and alligators scattered around the festival grounds, concert goers could learn about protection of Florida’s natural environments and local environmental groups.”

Ohana Festival 2024

Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder founded the Ohana fest in 2016. It’s been held at Doheny Beach for a reason, that’s where Vedder, a surfer enthusiast, rode his first wave. Proceeds from the initial fest benefited the San Onofre Park Foundation and the Doheny State Beach Foundation. Since then, the event has only become more widely focused on the environment and sustainability.

Vedder also curates the lineup each year and is a constant presence during the fest. For example, this year he was the first person on stage to welcome early birds, before joining Crowded House for some songs later.

Orozco told me, “Ohana is a Hawaiian word that means “family” and that means no-one is forgotten or left behind. His event does just that by showcasing a variety of music from various corners of the globe, with musicians from far flung places such Ireland (Glen Hansard, and Pillow Queens), Hawaii (Makua Rothman) and England (Idles). All of whom I thoroughly enjoyed.” 

Dervin was mightily impressed with Pearl Jam. As he told me, “Upon arriving at Ohana you could certainly feel the positive vibrations from the many Pearl Jam fans who make this an annual pilgrimage. They then presented an amazing set of tunes culled from their their vast music catalog.”

Dervin particularly appreciated Maren Morris’ set. He first saw Morris at Bumbershoot in 2016, and her music has grown and matured in the eight years since. He also enjoyed Glen Hansard, a longtime friend of Vedder and Oscar winner (along with Marketa Irglova) for the song “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once, and Jenny Lewis. All three played fantastic sets to adoring audiences.

As a card-carrying lifelong fan of Devo, Dervin was extremely pleased when they became the replacement band for Neil Young & Crazy Horse, who could not appear due to illness.

Click on any photo below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.