John Mayer has announced the launch of a weekly Grateful Dead Listening Party following the recent death of his Dead & Company bandmate Bob Weir.
The US artist revealed his plans via Instagram, explaining that attempts to find solace in Grateful Dead music after Weir’s passing left him feeling unexpectedly isolated.
“In the days after we lost Bobby Weir, I tried listening to Grateful Dead music as a way to be soothed. I found it harder than I’d thought,” Mayer wrote. “I felt as if I was listening alone, like the mainframe that connects all who listen at any given time had gone offline. It turns out that a presence like Bobby’s makes for an immeasurable absence.”
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The listening party will take place every Sunday night on Mayer’s “LIFE with John Mayer” SiriusXM channel. During the two-hour programme, he will play selections from his favourite Grateful Dead and Dead & Company recordings whilst providing commentary on each track.
Mayer described the initiative as “a way for those who have felt lost to ‘meet up’ and listen to the music together”, acknowledging that whilst the show isn’t broadcast live, he will be tuning in alongside listeners.
Weir, who died in January at age 78, was a co-founder and guitarist of the Grateful Dead. Mayer joined Dead & Company in 2015, developing a close musical partnership with Weir over nearly a decade of touring together.
Mayer even delivered an emotional tribute to Weir at a public memorial for the music legend following his passing.
“Over the course of a decade, we came to trust each other,” Mayer said.
“He taught me, among many other things, to trust in the moment, and I’d like to think I taught him a little bit to rely on a plan, not as a substitute for the divine moments, but as a way to lure them in a little closer. I guess maybe what I was really doing was showing him he could rely on me.”
