Waves and Melodies: The timeless appeal of Jack Johnson’s acoustic sound

Allison Kirk

Music Journalist

Life is hard. The world will throw obstacles. Especially as college students, It’s easy to become overwhelmed, tired, and stressed. But when it comes to an artist with relaxing, carefree melodies, Jack Johnson is one of the best.   

Johnson is widely recognized for his featured songs on the Curious George live-action soundtrack, and now, with his newest album titled Surfilmusic, he partners with guitar-duo Hermanos Gutierrez to create a deeper, more acoustic, folk, mellow, surfer-vibe – almost like a day at the beach. With features from Johnson’s discography and new tunes, the album is definitely worth a listen.   

The album also features a biographical documentary that follows the evolution of Johnson’s life from surfer to musician, exploring how life experience has shaped his music.  

His background   

For more information, Jack Johnson was born in Hawaii. He started surfing at 5 years old; over the years, he became very talented. At age 13 he was a finalist at the US surfing championship. At the age of 14, Johnson began playing the guitar casually. He said, “When the waves were drunk, I’d play guitar.” At 17, he made history as the youngest surfer to reach the finals in the 1992 Pipeline Masters. That is, until he wiped out, leaving him with missing teeth and multiple stitches.   

During this time, Johnson began dedicating more time to his other hobbies, music, writing, and filmmaking. He attended the University of California, where he studied film. He was most interested in creating surf films, with 16mm footage creating his own aesthetic. But what really set him apart from others was that he created his own original soundtracks.   

His most iconic being the project, “September Sessions,” which included the song “F-Stop Blues.” The film and song gained lots of attention, and even caught the eye of the band G.Love & Special Sauce, who covered his song on their album, and musician Ben Harper, who invited Johnson on his tour! After that Johnson created his first album, Brushfire Fairytales, and took off from there.   

What’s he up to now   

Over the years, he’s released 8 studio albums, 5 going platinum. Including In Between Dreams, Sleep Through the Static, the Curious George soundtrack, and more.   

He’s also performed in dozens of festivals, toured around the world, and with the new release of the Surfilmusic film and album, Johnson is currently on an international tour to promote. He’s travelling coast to coast in North America, with shows in Australia, New Zealand, and South America.   

He stopped in Austin, Dallas, and Houston this summer. I managed to get a ticket!   

Concert Review  

The show I went to was on August 29 at the Germania Insurance Amphitheater in South Austin. Jack Johnson sang a wide variety of songs from early in his career to more recently. He had a portion of the concert dedicated to showing a clip of the “September Sessions” with live background music. He covered “Badfish” by Sublime and “9 to 5” in tribute to Miss Dolly Parton. And after the show, he spent time taking requests from the pit, singing acoustic love songs and deep cuts. During the show he explained some of the meanings behind his songs, explaining that he takes inspiration from situations and conversations he has. One song, titled “If I had eyes,” he dedicated to a conversation he had with his son, explaining that he was trying to get his son to stop drinking sugary drinks, saying if he didn’t stop, he’d grow a weird tail…his son wouldn’t budge, saying he liked the idea of having a tail. And instead of punishing him, the two wrote this song together. For many of his songs, he had a silly story behind it. It was nice getting to know Jack Johnson and the parts of his life that he takes inspiration from. The show felt very intimate and personal. He also brought up 2 members of the audience to sing and play guitar. Overall, it was a great show. And the parking was included with the tickets!  

Jack Johnson’s music feels relaxed, mellow, and comforting. With over 30 years of creating and performing music, he is still making crowds smile. He has calm, wholesome lyrics and beachy melodies that provide a quiet break from loud pop music. I think in times of stress, everyone can use a little bit of Jack Johnson in their playlist.    

Some Songs I Recommend from SURFILMUSIC

Hold on to the Light
Slow Down Bruce
Tahiti
Fortunate Fool
Green Board
News
Drink the Water