John Mayer Tests Positive for Covid-19, Reschedules Four Tour Dates

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAnyone who’s tried to buy a concert ticket in the past three decades knows what a frustrating price-gouging and seemingly corrupt process it is — many major concerts are sold out literally seconds after the tickets go on sale, and the only recourse is to go the secondary market, where fans must pay exponentially more than face value, which happens even when they can get them directly, due to a battery of mysterious “fees.”Ticketmaster, the largest broker in the business, is at the center of this morass and has been essentially bulletproof for decades — in 1995, Pearl Jam, arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, assailed the high prices and tried to go on a Ticketmaster-less tour, and failed. Even Congress, often led by New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, has gone after the company — and even after the pandemic decimated the touring industry, Ticketmaster remains as strong as ever.

Dr Alex George has joined celebrity dating app Raya following his split from Ellie Hecht after cheating claims.The 31 year old and girlfriend Ellie went their separate ways after a year together and it's since been claimed he allegedly cheated on her at least four times before their break up. Despite allegedly denying the claims, it appears Alex has firmly moved on from it all as he's signed up to Raya, a private, membership-based dating app that has boasted celebrity names including Roman Kemp and Amy Schumer.The first photo on his profile is one he posted on his Instagram feed last year, which shows him smiling for a selfie in a car as he dons a pair of translucent glasses.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor“Clive Davis: Most Iconic Performances,” a four-art series featuring concert clips chosen by and interviews conducted by the legendary music executive, will premiere exclusively on Paramount Plus in the U.S. and internationally beginning Wednesday, March 23.In this special miniseries, culled from his virtual 2021 pre-Grammy Gala events, sees Davis taking viewers through some of his favorite musical performances from the last few decades.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s been a long time coming — two years, in fact — but the Songwriters Hall of Fame has confirmed that its twice-pandemic delayed 51 Annual Induction & Awards Gala will take place on Thursday, June 16, 2022, at its longtime location, the Marriott Marquis New York’s Times Square.The 2022 date, originally set for June 10, 2020, will induct previously announced songwriters, Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Ernie Isley / Marvin Isley / O’Kelly Isley / Ronald Isley / Rudolph Isley / Chris Jasper (the Isley Brothers), Steve Miller, Pharrell Williams / Chad Hugo (the Neptunes), Rick Nowels and William “Mickey” Stevenson. Master songwriter Paul Williams will be receiving the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award and Universal Music Publishing Chairman-CEO Jody Gerson will receive the Abe Olman Publisher Award.

John Mayer has announced that he’s leaving Columbia Records after 21 years, and that he’s looking forward to exploring “new avenues of making music”.The singer-songwriter took to Instagram yesterday (March 4) to share the news with his fans.“After 21 years, eight studio albums, and some wonderful personal and creative relationships, I have decided not to renew my recording agreement with Columbia Records,” he began.“Hard as it is to say goodbye, I’m excited to pursue new avenues of making music, both of [sic] my own and with other artists.”“I love music more than ever, and I believe some of my best work still lies ahead,” he continued, before signing off: “With gratitude and enthusiasm, John.”A post shared by John Mayer

John Mayer has shared some important news with fans on Instagram – he’s leaving Columbia Records.

Chris Willman Music WriterJohn Mayer announced Friday that he’s leaving Columbia Records, the label that has been his home since his debut album came out in 2001. The surprising declaration comes exactly a week before he kicks off a national tour behind what has apparently turned out to be his last Columbia album, “Sob Rock.”The news came via an Instagram post that read: “After 21 years, eight studio albums, and some wonderful personal and creative relationships, I have decided not to renew my recording agreement with Columbia Records.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOutsider music and outsider art have been bedfellows in just about every sense since the two art forms have existed, and that collaboration is celebrated and explored in the Outsider Art Fair, taking place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York this weekend.The exhibit — which is celebrating its 30 th year and is billed “the only fair dedicated to showcasing self-taught art, art brut and outsider art from around the world” — features more than 60 international exhibitors, including works from the Michael Stipe Collection as well as an exhibition of psychedelic art curated by Fred Tomaselli called “Field Trip: Psychedelic Solution, 1986 – 1995.”The latter is filled with work from the likes of pioneering underground cartoonist/Zap Comix artist Spain Rodriguez, R Crumb, Robert Williams, Rick Griffin, S. Clay Wilson along with original artwork related to artists like Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield and the Who — there’s even the original drawing that spawned the Grateful Dead’s logo along with the origin story as well as preparatory drawings for the Jerry Garcia solo album “Compliments Of” from 1974 by artist Victor Moscoso.

John Mayer has tested positive for COVID-19 a second time, leading to the next four shows on his ‘Sob Rock’ tour being pushed back to May.The songster shared his diagnosis overnight (February 25), confirming that alongside himself, several members in his band have also wound up with the virus. It comes just days after Mayer’s touring drummer tested positive, with Questlove stepping in to fill his role at the band’s New York City gig.Whelp.

John Mayer has revealed that he was tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time in less than two months.

Chris Willman Music WriterMaking a good argument that rehearsals are for rookies, and that some Oscar nominees are better utility players than others, Questlove sat in with John Mayer’s band at a Madison Square Garden show Monday after the singer’s usual drummer, Steve Ferrone, tested positive for COVID before the show.Mayer’s crew was actually down by two at the start of his second night at MSG, with backup singer Carlos Ricketts Jr. also testing positive.

John Mayer‘s touring drummer has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in the musician withdrawing from Mayer’s concert in New York last night (February 21).Taking to Twitter, Mayer – sharing a monochrome image of himself facing an empty arena – wrote: “This afternoon, our drummer tested positive for COVID-19. We all wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you all at the show.”This afternoon, our drummer tested positive for COVID-19. Tonight's concert @TheGarden will go on as scheduled, with a very special presentation.

John Mayer is about to perform the second of two sold-out shows at New York City’s Madison Square Garden as part of his Sob Rock Tour, but the second show is likely going to be a lot different than the first.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s a fair bet that anyone who clicks on this article does not need a backstory on Woody Guthrie — legendary singer-songwriter, activist, poet, artist, writer of “This Land Is Your Land” and many other standards and the single greatest influence on Bob Dylan and a generation of musicians.But as a stunning, just-opened exhibit at the Morgan Library & Museum shows, there was much more to him than his most well-known songs might indicate. Most striking of all, as manuscripts of his writings show, he was an amazingly deft wordsmith who would have made a hell of a rapper — and many of his verses and casual writings show a rustic, ribald sense of humor that is rarely present, or at least rarely obvious, in most of his songs.

Rumors are swirling around about John Mayer and Kiernan Shipka and it’s all because of these new photos, which you can see in our gallery here.