John Mayer

John Mayer has had several musical lives rolled into one: a pop star, a renowned guitarist, a heartthrob, a serious student of the blues, and a gritty comeback artist who returned from a two-year hiatus because of vocal cord problems to develop a passion for the music of the Grateful Dead.

Mayer was born in 1977 and grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, where his parents were both educators. When he was 13, his father rented a guitar for him, and a neighbor’s Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette engendered his love for the blues. He enrolled in Berklee in 1997 and completed two semesters before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. He soon became a solo act, finding fans in the early internet music market.

Through the early 2000s, he performed, toured, and recorded prolifically, winning acclaim for such hits as “Your Body Is a Wonderland,”  which won a 2003 Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocalist, and “Daughters,” which won a 2005 Grammy for Song of the Year. Two more songs won Grammys in 2006. He also collaborated with blues and jazz artists such as Buddy Guy and Herbie Hancock, gaining recognition for his guitar work.

He pulled back from the celebrity circuit and touring around 2010 and shifted his concentration to guitar. In 2013, he appeared at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, his first full concert in years. In 2015 he met Bob Weir and soon began touring with Dead & Company. He's currently working on a solo album.