John Mayer Tests Positive for COVID, Forces Dead and Company to Cancel Mexico Festival

John Mayer tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and over a week’s worth of concerts needed to be canceled while he recovers. Mayer was set to perform with the band Dead and Company from Friday, Jan. 7 to Sunday, Jan. 16 in Cancun, Mexico. As the band explained on Twitter, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus on his way out of the country, so he was ultimately not cleared to leave.

Mayer would have played as the frontman of Dead and Company this month for the group’s “Playing in the Sand Festival” in Cancun. They had shows scheduled from Jan. 7 to Jan. 10 and from Jan. 13 to Jan. 16, but sadly they cannot go on. The band made some apologetic posts on Twitter, emphasizing that Mayer’s physician had advised him not to travel or to perform. The singer-songwriter himself has not commented on the cancellations and has in fact been absent from social media so far in 2022.

Dead & Company and @CID_Presents tried everything possible to bring normalcy and to deliver a great experience and amazing music, but with each day it became increasingly clear that canceling is the correct thing to do for the fans and for our crew…
(2/3)

— Dead & Company (@deadandcompany) January 6, 2022

Dead and Company is a rotating cast of musicians consisting mainly of former members of the band Grateful Dead. The group initially announced a new lineup for this month’s shows after Mayer was forced to drop out, but on Thursday, it announced that the Playing in the Sand Festival had been canceled altogether instead.

“With much sadness and after great consideration of every possible scenario, the [Playing in the Sand] shows in Riviera Cancun on Jauary 7-10 and January 13-16 have now been canceled by [organizer CID Presents] due to the spiking COVID-19 cases,” the band tweeted. “Dead & Company and CID Presents tried everything possible to bring normalcy and to deliver a great experience and amazing music, but with each day it became increasingly clear that canceling is the correct thing to do for the fans and for our crew.”

ordering me to sit this one out.

As many of you know, I had some health issues this past fall. After a lifetime of playing special beats, it’s almost no wonder that my heart came up with its own idea of rhythm. All jokes aside, my doctor has ordered me to take it easy…
(2/4)

— Bill Kreutzmann (@BKreutzmann) January 3, 2022

The band directed ticket-holders to the websites where they could get refunds but made no mention of honoring the tickets for future shows. Meanwhile, drummer Bill Kreutzmann explained in a separate Twitter thread that his health was a factor to the cancel the shows as well. He joked: “After a lifetime of playing special beats, it’s almost no wonder that my heart came up with its own idea of rhythm.”

COVID-19 cases are still on the rise in the U.S., and public health experts recommend vaccines and booster shots as the primary defense against infection. For the latest information on the pandemic, visit the CDC’s website.