Violinist Jonathon Ginn has loved music most of his life, but he never dreamed his ladder to global popularity would be the humble service station.
It all started earlier this year when Ginn and his wife Deanna were dreaming up ideas for his Instagram account, with Ginn hoping to encourage corporate and wedding bookings.
With petrol prices soaring at the time, they had an idea—why not treat filling up the car like a luxury experience?
After all, it was starting to feel like one with diesel prices reaching A$3.00 a litre (US$2.09).
Deanna, a photographer, filmed Jonathon playing beneath the price board, captioned, “Adding live music to an upper class experience.”
Jonathon Ginn is now being accompanied by other musicians while playing at service stations. Courtesy of Jonathon Ginn
At first, the video clocked up thousands of views, then tens of thousands, and then millions.
Related Story
“I just came up with this idea one day sitting at home,” Jonathon told The Epoch Times. “It kind of blew up on my Instagram.
“Almost 18 million views, I’d never had those kinds of statistics on my Instagram before.”
Kindness in a Tough Economy
Jonathon, who lives on Queensland’s Gold Coast, started playing at various service stations, at times successfully busking for fuel.
Since then, he’s paid the generosity forward by gifting random strangers enough money to fill their tanks.
“The funniest thing is any time you go up to someone and give them money, they’re usually like, ‘Is this a scam?’” Jonathon said.
With the help of service stations, Jonathon has so far given away more than $2,000 worth of fuel to random strangers, with a plan underway to gift $1,000 in fuel to a truck driver.
Jonathon Ginn says if fueling up is an expensive experience, it may as well feel like one. Courtesy of Jonathon Ginn
Getting Creative
But the giving is not the only thing that has grown alongside Jonathan’s success—the fun and heart-warming videos have kept coming and they’ve gotten bigger and better.
He’s performed with fellow musicians from the wedding community and his Seven-Day Adventist parish.
“I’ve pulled my violin out on a plane before,” he said. “I’ve played out the front of a [supermarket chain] Woolworths because people have been complaining about grocery prices.”
Ginn has even performed at a service station in a Tyrannosaurus Rex costume.
He’s even been accompanied by an 11-piece ensemble, and 22 students from the Toronto Adventist School.
Jonathon Ginn plays music at a service station with students from Toronto. Courtesy Jonathon Ginn
Going Global
A violinist in Europe has even played at service stations in Norway, inspired by Ginn’s passion for accompanying soaring petrol prices with soaring classical notes.
He’s also attracted fans from Indonesia, where locals are currently waiting in line for hours at service stations as bad weather and panic buying weigh on distribution.
“I’ve learned more about geopolitics than I thought I would,” Ginn said.
Jonathon has now put the message out to service stations operating in Bali—if they shout him a couple of days, he’ll gladly entertain those who are waiting.
As for bowsers in Australia, motorists may still be grateful for Ginn’s musical accompaniment.
The latest Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) report shows fuel prices in major centres increased 2.9 cents per litre from the week proceeding Oct. 14.
The average price of fuel is now sitting 71 cents per litre over prices in February.
