Mike McCready joins Brandi Carlile for faithful cover of Soundgarden’s Searching With My Good Eye Closed

The first instalment of Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival 2021 took place last weekend, and the star-studded event saw Brandi Carlile join forces with Mike McCready and Matt Cameron for a live cover of Soundgarden’s Searching With My Good Eye Closed.

Appearing on the bill on Saturday 26, Carlile called upon the electric guitar titan and drumming icon for the cover, which saw McCready – who later dubbed the track his “favorite Soundgarden song” – faithfully conjure up the overdriven lead lines using his Fender Stratocaster.

McCready’s Strat also played host to a rip-roaring guitar solo – which explodes into action around the four minute mark in the video below – suited to boot rapid-fire pentatonic licks and raucous bend-heavy passages.

Soundgarden alumni Cameron, who of course had originally recorded the track for 1991 studio album Badmotorfinger, was as commanding as ever behind the kit, with bassist Phil Hanseroth and guitarist Tim Hanseroth completing the rendition’s lineup.

Carlile is already well-versed in the ways of Searching With My Good Eye Closed, having previously performed the track alongside the surviving Soundgarden members Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd.

“Had a great time rocking my favorite Soundgarden song Searching With My Good Eye Closed live with Brandi Carlile, who sings that song beautifully!” McCready said in a social media post after the event.

In a post of her own, Carlile commented, “Ohana Fest! Thank you for an unforgettable night. Grateful I was able to share it with some of my incredibly talented friends Yola, Celisse and Mike McCready and Matt Cameron.

“Thank you to my friend and hero Eddie Vedder and the rest of the almighty Pearl Jam for letting this power bitch share the stage with you power bitches.”

Carlile and co’s cover of Soundgarden was one of a number of standout performances from the festival, which also saw the singer-songwriter join Pearl Jam to perform Better Man during their headline set, while Vedder took the stage alongside Chad Smith, Andrew Watt and Josh Klinghoffer for a last-minute headline slot on Friday (September 24).

The second instalment of the Ohana Festival, dubbed the Ohana Encore, is scheduled to take place on October 1 and 2, and will feature performances from Pearl Jam, Brandi Carlile, Beck, Sleater-Kinney and more.

To find out more, visit Ohana Festival.