As the Troubadour Summer Concert Series continues, a special tribute show is slated for Friday evening. Known for his intimate storytelling style, Canadian artist Jon Bryant is set to take the main stage at Meridian Place on Aug. 14. RELATED: Troubadour Summer Concert Series Aug. 15 show Bryant boasts a 15-year long music career with over 150 million streams, but even as the headliner of Friday’s show, his performance is dedicated to someone else. Bryant’s show is a special, live performance tribute to Jack Johnson. Johnson is a singer, songwriter and filmmaker is best known for his acoustic style of folk. Bryant tells CTV News he began listening to Johnson’s music decades ago. “When I was about 13, I started playing guitar, which was around the same time I started skim boarding and surfing and I was looking for music that was in that world... and I was in band class in grade seven and my friend gave me Brushfire Fairytales and he was like, you gotta listen to this,” Bryant said. “Even today, after 20 years, I still remember every word of these songs,” Bryant added. “He had such an impact on me early on, especially on a songwriter.” Bryant says Johnson’s music was easy to connect with, given his mutual love of surfing, a common theme in Johnson’s music. “As an adult now, I’m a little more in tune with the lyrics, especially the lyrics about becoming a father, especially because I just became a father 11 months ago,” Bryant tells CTV News. “All those songs, they just feel a little more true to who I am now,” he adds. RELATED: Local openers for Bahamas at Troubadour in Barrie Bryant’s performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and be followed by an outdoor viewing of Surfilmusic, a film directed by Johnson highlighting the connection between his surfing roots, his music, friendships and experiences that have shaped his creative life.
