Jack Johnson
Pavilion at Star Lake, Burgettstown, Pa.
July 3, 2026
By Rob McCune
Board shorts and flip flops are not typical concert attire.
Unless you’re Jack Johnson, of course.
The American singer-songwriter-surfer was far from a beach, but the Pavilion at Star Lake, in Burgettstown, Pa., served as a chill backdrop for a stop on Johnson’s “Surfilmusic Tour.”
The tour offers a little of each: surf, film and music.
Part promotion for the documentary/biopic “Surfilmusic,” which has a limited theatrical release this summer, the concert features clips from the movie, displayed on a screen over the stage, as Johnson and his band, and guests Hermanos Gutierrez, provide a live soundtrack.
Hermanos Gutierrez, two brothers who were inspired to learn to play guitar by Johnson, opened with an instrumental set that established the chill vibe of the evening.
Johnson’s performance, meanwhile, was a play with essentially five acts.
The first act was playful, with snippets from covers of songs like Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run,” and even a little of Mister Rogers’ “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” from keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Zach Gill, who later slayed on accordion.
The soundtrack “September Sessions” made up act two; while the third act pulled the hits, from “Curious George” themes “Banana Pancakes” and “Upside Down” to perhaps the most mellow protest song ever written, “Good People.”
For act four, Johnson was joined on stage by his son (also in flip flops, with a Metallica tee) for two songs: “If I Had Eyes,” written for and with him, and an original by the offspring.
The final act featured a solo by Johnson on “Better Together,” a song about love enduring that has become a favorite at weddings.
Johnson’s tour continues across the U.S. into mid-October, before heading to Australia in November.
Follow Rob McCune on Instagram (@Every_Thing_After_Photo) and listen to the “Every.Thing.After Podcast” on Spotify.
