Jack Johnson: Coachella’s Night One Headliner on His Upcoming Tour and Laughing at His Own Mellow

How intense is the anticipation for Prince’s Saturday night headlining set at Coachella this year? Even Day One headliner Jack Johnson risked being scolded by security and sneaked around to hear the Purple One soundcheck Thursday night. “It was rad,” grinned Johnson backstage a scant hour before his own set Friday night. “They did a Radiohead cover at soundcheck, ‘Creep.’” Though it may seem like Johnson would be more at home at Bonnaroo (where he’ll also be playing next month), the laid-back singer-guitarist, who’s performed at Coachella twice before, says he’s a big fan of the desert fest’s mostly rock-oriented lineups. “The last time we played I was right between Sonic Youth and the White Stripes. I felt sandwiched, like we were the ginger between sushi or something,” he said after raving about the Raconteurs set. “I’m definitely honored to be up on stage with all these bands,” he added with characteristic humbleness. “They ask you way in advance will you headline, then they start adding bands it’s like, oh wow, should I really be a headliner?” Johnson isn’t just headlining Coachella and Bonnaroo this year — he’ll also be anchoring New Jersey’s All Points West and San Francisco’s Outside Lands. “We weren’t sure if we were going to do a full tour, so we said yes to a lot of festivals,” he explained. “We thought that would be the only thing we did, and then we slowly added other shows. But yeah, we’re doing a lot of festivals. It’s fun, because I don’t get to see that much live music — I’ve got a four and a two year old — so it’s nice to be able to come to these and catch up, see Vampire Weekend and all these bands I’ve wanted to see.” (One thing he’s bummed he won’t be able to catch is Roger Waters’ Sunday night set — Jo
	Published: 2008-04-26 Provider: Rolling Stone
Keywords: Rock News, Coachella