[UPDATE 1/6/22, 5:30 p.m. ET]: Dead & Company and CID have announced that both weekends of Playing In The Sand 2022 have now been officially canceled. For more information on the last-minute cancellation, click here.
[1/5/21] Guitarist John Mayer will not appear with Dead & Company the first weekend of the band’s 2022 Playing In The Sand event in Mexico, taking place January 7th-10th, after testing positive for COVID-19. The announcement did not reference Mayer’s potential availability for the second weekend of the 2022 event, due to take place January 13th–15th.
The news follows Monday’s announcement that drummer Bill Kreutzmann will not make the trip to Mexico for either weekend of Playing In The Sand 2022 per doctor’s orders pertaining to a non-COVID-related heart issue.
According to the Wednesday evening announcement from the band regarding the weekend one lineup, the first weekend will now feature “Dos Hermanos con Amigos”: Dead & Company regulars Mickey Hart (drums) and Bob Weir (guitar/vocals) with Jeff Chimenti (keys) and Oteil Burbridge (bass), joined by Jay Lane (drums) in place of Kreutzmann and Tom Hamilton (guitar/vocals) in place of Mayer.
Both stand-ins have resumes uniquely suited for their respective roles. Jay Lane played in the band on various occasions in 2021 when Kreutzmann was unavailable due to similar health concern, including two nights at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, another pair of shows at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre in Denver, and the band’s tour-closing Halloween show at Hollywood Bowl. Tom Hamilton is the guitarist for a number of touring groups including Ghost Light, lauded Grateful Dead tribute act Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, and Bill Kreutzmann side project Billy & The Kids. He has even played with Weir and Chimenti on a Riviera Maya beach in the past, as part of pre-PITS destination event Los Muertos Con Queso in 2017.
The band has also promised special guest sit-ins by Margo Price, who is one of the event’s billed supporting acts, and others to be announced. The announcement of the lineup shake-up also told fans to look out for “many rare and different tunes.”
“We came down here to have fun,” Weir said in a statement. “Unfortunately some of our brothers cannot make it but fun is what we’re going to have.”
In addition to this altered Dead & Company lineup, both weekends will include supporting sets by L.A.-based funk-jam outfit The Main Squeeze, Nashville singer-songwriter Margo Price, and blues-rock guitar maven Celisse. The destination events will also feature late-night sets by The Main Squeeze, Femme House founder and producer/multi-instrumentalist LP Giobbi, and Cleveland, OH rock-reggae-funk troupe Tropidelic.
For more information on livestream passes for both weekends of Playing In The Sand 2022, head here. For a full recap and rundown of Dead & Company’s 2021 tour, head here. Stay tuned for more information on the updated lineup and Mayer’s status for weekend two of the event.
Get well soon, John and Billy!
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