Musician Jack Johnson tours Montecito and pitches in to help victims ahead of benefit concert

Ahead of his sold-out benefit concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl, musician Jack Johnson toured Montecito with the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade.

But, Johnson also got his hands dirty with volunteers, shoveling and removing mud from a kitchen on San Leandro Lane.

“It’s nice to get to dig with them for a bit and get to see a home turn back into a home slowly,” Johnson said.

Johnson moved from the mud-filled home to an open space filled with trees caked in mud. There he helped volunteers scrape, brush and clean the trunks, all while wearing a Bucket Brigade t-shirt.

“I got this shirt. I’m really happy to have this shirt. I’m going to wear this with pride. These guys have been our heroes,” he said.

A large group, including Johnson, his wife Kim, Bucket Brigade Chief Abe Powell, and co-leader Tom Cole piled into a van and toured some of the hardest hit areas of the Jan. 9 mudslide.

“My heart goes out to all of those families. You see those homes and you realized walls were ripped off and the stories of the families that were luckier than others,” Johnson said. “I’m still digesting it. It’s really overwhelming to see.”

Powell and Cole pointed out some of the homes the Brigade has dug out in recent weeks and the progress being made.

Johnson said he has a deep connection to Santa Barbara, after spending many years here. He attended UC Santa Barbara, where he met his wife Kim.

“This is where my music grew out of and so it’s home to us in a lot of ways,” he said.

Johnson hopes that his benefit concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Sunday, March 18 will offer some comfort.

“We hope it’s a healing event for everybody,” he said. “We also want to have a nice celebration of all the hard work and have as much fun as we can given the circumstances. But it’s going to be really emotional for all of us.”

The concert will benefit the Thomas fire and flood funds with 100% of net proceeds going to the United Way.