Eddie Vedder plays Prince, REM, Kings Of Leon and Pretenders covers with Chad Smith, Pino Palladino and Josh Klinghoffer

Eddie Vedder
(Image credit: Jim Bennett/WireImage)

Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder stepped in with an all-star band after Kings Of Leon's Followill brothers were forced to pull out of their headline set at Ohana Festival in California last night (24 September) to be with their mother Betty Ann in her final moments 

Elite bassist Pino Palladino, Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, Ozzy Osbourne / Post Malone guitarist and producer Andrew Watt, plus Pearl Jam touring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer stepped in with Vedder to play a set including Prince, REM, Pretenders and Pearl Jam songs.

Watt, Smith and Klinghoffer have all been involved in Vedder's recently announced solo album Earthling, and the latter guitarist made his first appearance with Pearl Jam at their live comeback in New Jersey last week.

Chad Smith

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith onstage with Eddie Vedder at the Ohana Festival 24 September 2021 (Image credit: Jim Bennett/WireImage)

Vedder will headline the three-day festival he curates again tonight (25 September) and with Pearl Jam tomorrow on 26 September. 

In addition to the Pretenders' Precious (the British band will play the festival under Pearl Jam tomorrow) Vedder's band also played REM's Drive – a song the singer recently covered for Sean Penn's Flag Day film.

Vedder's band also played Molly's Chambers in tribute to the Kings Of Leon, after brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill cancelled a run of live shows to be by their mother Betty Ann Murphy's side during a "medical crisis". She passed away on the morning of 24 September. 

Kings Of Leon's replacements at Ohana Festival played Prince's Purple Rain (with Klinghoffer on vocals) and a clutch of Vedder solo and Pearl Jam songs, including Long Road from the latter's 1995 collaboration with Neil Young.

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The singer also proudly introduced 17-year-old daughter Olivia Vedder to the crowd as she performed My Father's Daughter with the band – another song that featured on the Flag Day soundtrack. 

Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament watched side stage as the band played favourites Corduroy and Porch during the 11-song set, with Vedder laughing that “We’re kind of making it up here tonight". 

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Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.