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Jack Johnson is touring this summer, with plans to hit a number of festivals on his travels. He is supporting his most recent effort, "Sleep Through the Static."
Johnson is known for his laid-back style of mellow music and lyrics, often mixing acoustic, folk and soft rock. The Hawaii native is a surfer that embraces the beachy way of life, and it is apparent in his music.
Johnson was born the son of a famous surfer, and he took up song writing during his college years after learning to play guitar at the age of 14. He grew up influenced by Ben Harper, A Tribe Called Quest, Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. Rapper G. Love first found Johnson when he recorded his song, "Rodeo Clowns," for the album "Philadelphonic. Johnson played on the track and eventually caught the ear of Harper, who worked with Johnson to release his debut album, "Brushfire Fairytales" in 2001.
The debut featured some of Johnsons best known tracks, including "Bubble Toes" and "Flake." Harper was featured on the latter, and Johnson began to develop a cult following in among college students around the country.
His sophomore effort was "On and On" in 2003, which included "Times Like These" and "Mediocre Bad Guys." The collection peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. His following albums, "Inbetween Dreams" in 2005 brought him hits with "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" and "Breakdown." The album hit No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. "Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George" debuted at the top of the Billboard Top 200 in 2006, making it the first soundtrack to do so since the "Bad Boys II" soundtrack in 2003. "Upside Down" and "Talk of the Town" were hits off the record.
"Sleep through the Static" kept of Johnsons tradition of topping the Billboard chart earlier this year. This was the first album made outside of Hawaii (it was recorded in Los Angeles), and it also showed more of a rock sound and less acoustic work.
Johnson makes a perfect match for summer festivals, and he will also be traveling to a number of amphitheatres and other venues for headlining gigs as well.
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