Jack Johnson has released “Rodeo Clowns,” an early acoustic 4-track recording of the beloved song that first reached audiences through his collaboration with G. Love on ‘Philadelphonic’ in 1999. It’s the second preview of his forthcoming double album ‘SURFILMUSIC Soundtrack and 4-Tracks’, arriving May 15 via Brushfire Records, and it’s streaming everywhere now.
The release follows “Drink The Water” with Hermanos Gutiérrez, recorded as part of the score for SURFILMUSIC, a new documentary that traces Johnson’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to world-renowned musician. The film draws on rare footage from his formative surf films, personal and family archives, and present-day reflections, threading together how lived experience, friendship, and exploration shaped the stories behind his music. It premiered at SXSW in March to a global audience, with a theatrical run beginning in early June.
Johnson brings the film home with two sold-out screenings at Blaisdell Concert Hall in Hawai’i on May 14 and May 15, celebrating the deep connection between the film and the place where he grew up surfing, making films, and writing the songs that defined his career. The double album pairs the documentary’s original score with remastered selections and previously unreleased gems from Johnson’s earliest 4-track recordings.