Dead and Company Cancels Playing in the Sand Festival after John Mayer tests positive for COVID- 19

After testing positive for COVID-19 before leaving for Mexico, John Mayer withdrew out of Dead and Company’s Playing in the Sand Festival. The band later canceled the entire festival due to concerns about the coronavirus. The Playing in the Sand Festival was supposed to take place in Cancun, Mexico, between January 7-10 and 13-16. “…just prior to leaving for Mexico, per his physician, @JohnMayer tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to perform at the upcoming ‘Playing in the Sand’ event in Riviera Cancun January 7-10,” the band tweeted.

The cancellation was announced by Dead and Company, which is made up of former Grateful Dead members. “Dead & Company and @CID_Presents tried everything possible to bring normalcy and to deliver a great experience and amazing music, but with each day it became increasingly clear that cancelling is the correct thing to do for the fans and for our crew…” the band tweeted.

“Please refer to the Playing in the Sand email, which will be mailed out shortly, for any refund information. Stay safe, hug your loved ones, and be kind till we meet again.” Mayer was dispatched to the festival to act as the band’s frontman. Bill Kreutztmann, the drummer for Dead and Company, had also withdrawn from the festival prior to its collapse. The band member claimed that his doctor had “ordered” him to take a break from the show while he recovers.

He explained on Twitter, “As many of you know, I had some health concerns this past fall.” “It’s absolutely no surprise that my heart developed its own sense of rhythm after a lifetime of playing unusual beats.” “All jokes aside, my doctor has ordered me to take it easy (and stay safe) through the end of January so that I can continue to drum and play for you for many tours to come. I have a lot of music left in me and there’s no stopping me from playing it.”