Florence Road, the Californian misadventure has a happy ending: Eddie Vedder lends his guitars to the Irish band

A guitar loaned by Eddie Vedder can absolutely change the ending of a bad story. Florence Road, a young Irish band, know something about that, having seriously risked having to pull out of their performance at the Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California, after all their equipment was stolen in Los Angeles.

The theft took place on the night of Thursday, September 24, while the band was in town during their North American tour. Practically all the instruments and equipment needed to play, from guitars to pedalboards, disappeared from the band's van. After trying to find a solution, Florence Road announced on social media that, despite every effort, it now seemed very unlikely they'd be able to take the stage at the Ohana Festival.

«We've genuinely tried everything to make it happen. We really, really want to play for you», the band wrote on Instagram on September 26th, suggesting that the theft would force them to cancel the show.

That's when Eddie Vedder stepped in. The frontman of Pearl Jam, who is also a co-organizer of the Ohana Festival, learned of the situation and personally offered the four young women his own gear. In particular, Vedder insisted that Lily Aron, Florence Road's singer and guitarist, use one of his guitars.

The gesture allowed Florence Road to salvage their festival slot: after initially having to skip their scheduled set, they were added back to the lineup for an evening performance, between Alabama Shakes and Tyler Childers.

The following day, the band recounted on social media what they called «48 crazy hours», also sharing a photo of Lily Aron together with Vedder and the borrowed guitar.

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"We couldn't be more grateful to Eddie Vedder and the whole Ohana Festival team," Florence Road wrote. "We were welcomed with incredible kindness, and as soon as Eddie found out our guitars had been stolen, he insisted I use his. A true gentleman."

The message goes on to thank everyone who helped make the performance possible: «We have the best team around us, and we would never have pulled off this show without them!». The four women then thanked Fender for providing guitars, and everyone who reached out after the theft: «We're lucky girls. Good things always come even in the worst moments! See you soon in New York».

Vedder's gesture takes on an even more special meaning considering that, during this same Ohana Festival, Pearl Jam also received some star-studded help. For their own set, the band was able to count on drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., lent to them by Paul McCartney. «Thank you so much for this weekend, Abe. And THANK YOU, Paul. We owe you a huge favor», Vedder wrote on social media.

Beyond the strange coincidence, the episode says a lot about the moment Florence Road are currently living through. The quartet from Bray, in County Wicklow, made up of Lily Aron, Emma Brandon, Ailbhe Barry and Hannah Kelly, is one of the most interesting acts to have emerged from the Irish scene in recent years. Still without a debut album, the four musicians have already opened for Olivia Rodrigo, Wolf Alice and Last Dinner Party, played major European festivals (including the Poplar Festival in Trento, as we reported at the time) and built up a following worldwide.

After North American dates in New York, Boston and Toronto, Florence Road will head back to Ireland for a run of shows culminating in two nights at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on December 15 and 16.

Expectations are running high for their debut album, given the more than promising groundwork laid by their EPs to date, "Fall Back" and "Spring Forward", plus the new single "7563", released in early September.

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