Unless you’ve been completely off-the-grid for the last week or so, the story about Mumford & Sons having to cancel their Bonnaroo headlining spot last minute and Jack Johnson getting the proverbial call to the bullpen to step in last minute is old news by now. The mellow-grooving singer-songwriter was en route to Manchester for a sit-in with his longtime friends ALO, where he planned to to preview some material from his upcoming studio album From Here To Now To You
, when fest organizers reached out asking if he would like to spend a little more time on-stage than originally planned. Johnson, who is no stranger to the various tents and stages, having played the ‘roo four previous times – including its inaugural edition in 2002 and as a main stage headliner in 2008, obliged despite the fact that he hadn’t played live with his band in over a year.
For his impromptu headlining set Johnson got into the Bonnaroo spirit mixing material from throughout his career, inviting out ALO’s Dan Lebowitz and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to collaborate with him and throwing in a handful of covers for good measure. While both Steve Miller Band’s The Joker and Sublime’s Badfish have been staples in his set lists, Johnson did debut a new cover tune – an island-vibed take on the Mumford & Sons song The Cave. The abbreviated version of the song, which was quite the classy move, received a very enthusiastic response from the crowd. Let’s check it out, as well as new tune that Johnson wrote about the entire surreal weekend…
