Yoko Ono was honored with a star-filled tribute at The Broad museum in Los Angeles during a special event called “Yoko Only: A Night Celebrating the Music of Yoko Ono,” according to Rolling Stone. Ono, 93, did not attend, but the concert featured a 19-song set built around her songs and performances.
Yo La Tengo served as the core backing band for the evening, with Nels Cline and Yuka Honda joining to round out the group. Honda curated the show and selected many of the performers and songs, and the event was presented alongside the museum’s exhibition Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind.
The lineup included Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards, Satomi Matsuzaki of Deerhoof, Kathleen Hanna, Corin Tucker, Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath, Theo Bleckmann and others. The set ranged from Ono’s experimental work, like “AOS,” to better-known songs such as “Walking on Thin Ice,” with performers putting their own styles into the material.
Other highlights included Finom’s performance of “Why” and “Kiss, Kiss, Kiss,” Emi Helfrich’s version of “Remember Love,” and Yo La Tengo frontman Ira Kaplan’s introduction to “What Did I Do!” The concert showcased Ono’s broad influence across generations and genres, from avant-garde music to feminist punk and beyond.
