Jack Johnson Announces His First Surf Film, 15th Album, And 16th Tour — All In One Gentle Swoop

If you don’t like banana pancakes, you probably had a bad childhood, and we’re sorry for that. But it doesn’t mean you get to throw shade on Jack Johnson’s name.

The 51-year-old North Shore-born, semi-pro-surfer-turned-musician, has 13.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify, has sold over 25 million records, done 15 tours, and wrote the Curious George soundtrack. He’s also responsible for a few of the most timeless surf films in recent history.

And from all accounts, he’s also a great guy (or an ahead-of-his-time paid comment marketer). As one YouTube commenter on Jack’s film trailer above said:

Besides the music, the reason I’m a JJ fan is this: When we lived in Kailua, we were out to get a wagyu burger at our favorite swanky place in Kailua town and the wait was about 35 minutes – not bad for a Friday night – and I see Jack, his wife, and their then-young kids come up to ask about the wait. The hostess – a little star-struck, I think – recognized Jack and said she would seat them right away; he looked embarrassed and immediately said in a quieter voice, “No, no, no, these folks have all been waiting…we’ll come back another time.”

A class act!

Now, Jack Johnson has partnered with Emmett Malloy to create a full-length film, SURFILMUSIC, that is currently playing in theaters across the world this week. The film is a sort of biopic on Jack’s life from setting out on a surf career (in the same graduating class as the Momentum Generation), to getting slammed into the reef face-first at Pipeline (which led him to change course completely to music).

Alongside the film, Jack announced a tour of the US, Australia, and New Zealand alongside a full double-album release to accompany the film.

Jack has also been on a prolific heater of interviews this past month, with everyone from Sterling Spencer’s Pinch My Salt podcast to the Rolling Stone podcast. If you are a Jack fan, there’s never been a better time to get into the man’s salt-and-pepper dome.

We especially recommend the Pinch My Salt interview if you’d like to hear about how Jack was kicked out of Kelly Slater’s band back in the day.

While the poster above shows only California movie times last week, there are showings in theatres around the globe. You can find a theatre near you and buy tickets here (including a town called King of Prussia, in Pennsylvania).