Eddie Vedder, Johnny Marr Cover the Smiths’ ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’
Eddie Vedder joined former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to cover the indie-rock band’s signature song “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” on Saturday during the Ohana Music Festival in Dana Point, California.
The Pearl Jam frontman walked onstage after a warm introduction. “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank a good friend of mine, someone who I’ve admired and who’s been to me and who’s an inspiration,” Marr said, welcoming Vedder onstage to channel Morrissey’s melancholy vocal on the 1986 track.
Vedder commanded the song, offering a huskier approach than Morrissey’s softer tone on The Queen Is Dead. Marr chimed in with a brief lead vocal at the end, and Vedder closed out the performance with some atmospheric vocalizing.
The singer-songwriter headlined the third installment of the three-day music festival. During his cover-heavy set, he recruited fellow Ohana performer Liz Phair for a stripped-down, fingerpicked rendition of Pearl Jam’s “Better Man.”