At this year’s Ohana Festival—Eddie Vedder’s seaside celebration of rock legends and rising artists—one of the most captivating performances came from a relative newcomer: Akira Galaxy (Akira Galaxy Ament), niece of Vedder’s bandmate Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam).
Akira’s ethereal vocals feel both intimate and unbound, as if she’s singing from the edges of a half-remembered dream. That duality reached its peak during “Virtual Eyes,” a slow-burning ballad about a romance that existed entirely online. By the final refrain, “I want your impossible devotion / So look me in my virtual eyes,” the crowd was entranced, caught in that ache for connection she channels so effortlessly.
Offstage, Akira carries the same sense of control and fluidity. Trained in movement and mime, she turns her performances into something closer to physical storytelling—dancing across the stage, leaping into the crowd, her presence graceful but fearless.
I’ve had a lot of preparation up until now. I went on tour with Travis and with Silversun Pickups. I’m making an album, and three of the songs tonight will be on it. I just feel it in my body.”
That debut album is still in progress—recording hasn’t yet begun—but she’s eyeing an early 2026 release. The songs, she says, will explore “bigger life concepts: life and death, pain, loneliness, light within the darkness… how you turn pain into beauty.” The sound will lean darker, shaped by her Seattle roots and touched with a ’90s edge. “I’m trying to infuse a little bit of Seattle into it for sure,” she said. “A little bit of that era’s energy.”
Seattle remains her anchor. Though she moved to Los Angeles at 18, she returns home for a third of the year. “When I go back, I can breathe properly,” she said. “The air, the nature—it feels like a reset. The music community there is really strong and supportive.” Still, LA has its place: “The collaborative scene here has been huge for me—finding people to write with, locking in with other creatives.”
She’s already built momentum across both coasts, including a recent sold-out show at Webster Hall in New York City. “It was one of my favorites—100 percent,” she said. When asked if she plans to return to New York, she smiled. “Maybe to record part of my album. TBD. But yeah, that’d be amazing.” And her dream stage? She doesn’t hesitate: “Madison Square Garden.”
