Nate Tramdaks, Staff Writer

The 2000s were defined by John Mayer. His early success with Room for Squares and Heavier Things made him one of the most recognizable artists in popular music, while 2006’s Continuum established him as one of the finest guitarists of his generation. By the end of the decade, Mayer had become a fixture in American music, owning the top of the charts and defining the sound of American pop.

The start to the 2010s was tumultuous for Mayer, to say the least. His highly publicized relationship with Taylor Swift and a series of controversial interviews damaged his reputation, making his personal life what people mainly talked about. Mayer retreated from the public eye, living on a ranch in Montana, away from the lights of Los Angeles, California. After a three year hiatus, Mayer resurfaced, releasing Born and Raised in 2012, and Paradise Valley in 2013. In the two albums, he abandoned his signature pop sound for a folky-americana influenced sound.

In February 2015, Mayer invited Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir onto The Late Late Show, which Mayer was guest hosting. The two performed the Dead classics “Althea” and “Truckin’,” beginning a musical partnership that would come to occupy Mayer’s next decade plus. Later that year, Mayer joined Weir and fellow Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann to form Dead & Company. Dead & Co toured until 2023, but continued 20+ show residencies at Sphere in Las Vegas in 2024 and 2025.

During that time, Dead & Company became the central part of Mayer’s musical career. His involvement introduced him to a new audience and gave him the opportunity to explore the Grateful Dead’s extensive catalog on a regular basis. Meanwhile, his own recorded output slowed considerably, with The Search for Everything in 2017 and Sob Rock in 2021 standing as his only two studio albums of original material since joining the group.

The band made its final appearance in August 2025, performing three shows at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary. Unbeknownst to the audience, the performances would also be Weir’s last as he was suffering from cancer. He died in January 2026 at the age of 78, bringing an abrupt end to his decade-long musical partnership with Mayer.

In August 2026, Mayer spoke publicly about his future with Dead & Company, suggesting that his time performing the Grateful Dead’s music had come to a natural conclusion. “The bus kind of dropped me off, and I get to be a lover of the music,” Mayer said. He later clarified that he wasn’t ruling out future performances.Then, in September, Mayer announced an April 2027 residency at the Sphere, this time under his own name. The residency has since expanded to 18 performances and will feature the return of the John Mayer Trio, and each show would feature a solo acoustic set, full band set and a trio set.

There has always been speculation that Dead & Co had signed a three-year, three residency deal with Sphere, obviously they did not get to see that through. Mayer, as the majority holder in Dead & Co stake could be making good on that supposed deal.

This a clear marker, however, that Mayer is going back to the solo world. Coming up on half a decade since his most recent album, the longest gap of his career, it is highly conceivable that new music, which has often been teased, is coming soon – hopefully before his run at Sphere.