Nineties country sounds are hot right now in Nashville, but Stephen Wilson Jr. works in a different style of Nineties nostalgia: grunge. The songwriter-guitarist celebrates the era in his original song “Year to Be Young 1994,” covers Nirvana’s “Something
in the Way” during his concerts, and has previously described his music as “Death Cab for Country.”
On Saturday at Ohana Fest in Dana Point, California, Wilson cemented his status as a grunge-country pioneer when he performed Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike” with Eddie Vedder himself.
Wilson closed his set with the song, originally a duet between Vedder and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell on 1991 Temple of the Dog, a tribute album to late Mother LoveBone singer Andrew Wood. After Wilson sang the first verse, Vedder emerged and took the mic — naturally, the crowd went bonkers. Both vocalists sing in a deeper register, but Wilson capably handled Cornell’s part, reaching for the stratosphere with the “I’m going hungry” refrain.
“I’m very much an indie-rock kid at heart,” Wilson told Rolling Stone last year. “But I’m a country songwriter. I write songs from a rural perspective and a blue-collar perspective.”
Wilson recorded a studio version of “Hunger Strike” for his 2025 EP Blankets. Once a competitive boxer, Wilson released the new song, “Cornerman,” last week. Along with “Gary,”his tribute to the working class, the song is expected to be featured on Wilson’s forthcoming album, the follow-up to his 2023 debut Son of Dad. Vedder’s annual Ohana Fest got underway on Friday with a surprise set by Pearl Jam, who debuted their new drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. The band is set to close out Ohana on Sunday night.
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