“Better late than never.” That might have been the thought running through Jack Johnson’s head as he stepped onto the stage at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 15, 2022, three weeks to the day that the performance had to be postponed because the artist tested positive for COVID hours before showtime.

Though Jack made it back to Merriweather Post for the reschedule performance, his band sadly did not. After completing the second song on the set, Jack paused to introduce his friends Lebo “Dan Lebowitz” of the band, ALO (guitar and keys), and Jeff Leonard (bass) and Tyler Thompson (drums) from Fruition who were supporting him for a few shows because his regular band members, Merlo (bass), Zach Gill (keys), and Adam Topol (drums), were still in COVID quarantine.

“Its great when you have great friends that you can just say what key the songs are in and they’re ready to play,” Jack said as he explained the last-minute arrangements that were necessary to have a backing band in place for the show.

Originally scheduled for June 24, the Merriweather Post show would have coincided with the release of Meet the Moonlight, Jack’s eighth studio album and his first release in five years. Recorded at his home studio, The Mango Tree, Jack worked on the album with producer Blake Mills who had previously worked with Alabama Shakes, The Black Keys, and Fiona Apple.

Stream Meet the Moonlight by Jack Johnson on Spotify.

The lengthy setlist included just three songs from the new album: “Calm Down,” “Costume Party,” and “One Step Ahead.” The rest of the set was a mix of Jack Johnson feel-good favorites (“Bubble Toes,” “Flake,” “Better Together”) and several covers such as “The Joker” (Steve Miller Band), “In the Summertime” (Mungo Jerry), and “Who Do You Love” (Bo Diddley).

Setlist:

Taylor
Sitting, Waiting, Wishing
Flake /
In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry cover)
One Step Ahead
Inaudible Melodies
Upside Down /
Badfish (Sublime cover)
Go On
Bubble Toes /
The Joker (Steve Miller Band cover)
Wasting Time
Happy Birthday to You
I Got You
Tape Deck
Breakdown
Staple it Together /
Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley cover)
Good People
Costume Party
Banana Pancakes
Calm Down
You Don’t Know How It Feels (Tom Petty cover)
Mudfootball

Encore:

Do You Remember
Gone
A Pirate Looks at Forty (Jimmy Buffet cover)
Shot Reverse Shot
Angel
Better Together

Enjoy some additional photos from Jack Johnson’s July 15, 2022, performance at Merriweather Post Pavilion.  All images copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss. 

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