"This is a bummer for everyone in the band and crew, to say nothing of the question hanging over everyone’s head - mine included - as to how I tested positive on PCR twice in two months," Mayer said.
Michael Kovac/Getty ImagesJohn Mayer was forced to postpone a slate of shows on his Sob Rock tour after he and several members of his band tested positive for Covid-19. For Mayer, this was his second positive Covid test in nearly as many months; a positive test at the beginning of January forced him to pull out of Dead and Company’s Playing the Sand concerts in Mexico.
“Whelp. More members of the band tested positive for Covid today, and I was one of them,” Mayer wrote on Instagram. “I’m so sorry to make you change your plans. This is a bummer for everyone in the band and crew, to say nothing of the question hanging over everyone’s head – mine included – as to how I tested positive on PCR twice in two months. (The first was extremely mild, but this one’s got the better of me.)”
Mayer has already rescheduled the four shows for May. He’ll be at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh on May 5; the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York on May 7; and then he’ll play two nights at the TD Garden in Boston on May 9 and 10. As it stands, Mayer is set to return to the road March 11 at the Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“We’ll give you everything we’ve got at these upcoming shows, just as soon as we rest up and regroup,” Mayer added on Instagram.
Even before his surprise second positive test, Mayer’s Sob Rock tour was battling Covid issues. On Feb. 21, right before he was set to play Madison Square Garden in New York City, Mayer announced that his touring drummer had tested positive. The show did go ahead as planned, and Questlove actually stepped in for part of the show.
Fontaines D.C. have teamed up with Rosalía for their new collaboration, Where Is Gone?.
The song features on the Irish rock band's forthcoming album, Dopamine Chamber, which arrives on Friday (16.10.26). For guitarist Carlos O’Connell, working with the Spanish superstar is particularly special because of his own Spanish roots.
He explained: “I’ve admired Rosalía ever since her debut album, which I thought was absolutely beautiful.
“What excited me most was the way she continued to preserve Spain's musical traditions, something that felt spiritually connected to what we've been trying to achieve with Irish music. Having roots in both countries, it's been really special to witness. "She's an artist who has continued to amaze me at every point in her career.”
Frontman Grian Chatten has also described the collaboration with Rosalía as one of the most memorable achievements of his career.
He revealed that he felt "humbled" when she agreed to lend her voice to the band's album.
Speaking to NPR, Grian said: “I've always felt there's something almost like a single big idea that I'm personally trying to communicate to the world before I get old and die, if that makes sense. There's one thing I think I'll spend my life trying to express. I have a feeling she has a similar outlook. … I mean, she's an amazing arranger, composer and lyricist. It means so much that she wanted to sing on something we'd put together. It's definitely one of the highlights of my career.”
Rosalía's links to Irish rock music extend beyond Fontaines D.C. She also offered inspiration and helped develop the Spanish lyrics for U2's The Mirror Maker (Rosalía), a track from their forthcoming album, Carnaval de Luz.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, she spoke about frontman Bono, saying: “I don't know him personally, but he sent me a text explaining that he was working on a new project and had written a song called The Mirror Maker."
Rosalía joked that Bono had invented a few words of his own.
She recalled telling him: “I wasn't sure what to make of it, but I told him he could create his own language if he wanted to.”
She described the opportunity to collaborate with the 66 year old music veteran as a real privilege.
She added: “Bono is a legend.
“It's amazing.”
Bono recently revealed that he was worried about seeming like a stalker when he reached out to Rosalía to ask whether he could name the song after her.
