John Mayer opened up his world tour in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday night with a special tribute to the people of Christchurch, New Zealand. The pop-star-gone-Dead & Company guitarist/vocalist welcomed up Bella Kalolo to sing the hymn “How Great Thou Art”, or “Whakaaria Mai in te Re”, along with a kapa haka group who performed in honor of the victims of last week’s mosque shootings.
“Thank you for coming out under such heavy circumstances, it means a lot to me,” Mayer said to the audience.
Following the beautiful tribute, John Mayer delivered two jam-packed sets of music. The first set featured Mayer’s full band performing nine originals, including three of the newer tunes: “In The Blood” and “Changing” from 2017’s The Search For Everything, and 2018 single, “New Light“. Then, Mayer stripped down for the solo acoustic portion of the evening, starting with the only cover of the night, “XO”. The Beyoncé cover was followed by “Daughters”, “Emoji of a Wave”, and “In Your Atmosphere” to close the set.
The full band returned to the stage for another complete set of originals, including fan-favorites “Helpless”, “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”, and “Gravity”, as well as his newest single, “I Guess I Just Feel Like“. For the encore, John Mayer surprised fans with semi-rarity “The Heart of Life” from his 2006 album, Continuum, which had not been performed since summer of 2017. The Search For Everything‘s “Still Feel Like Your Man” closed the show.
Watch the show-opening tribute below:
[Video: Lee Fowler]
John Mayer continues his world tour tonight in Brisbane, Australia. Head to his official website for a full list of tour dates.
Setlist: John Mayer | Spark Arena | Auckland, New Zealand | 3/23/19
How Great Thou Art (with Bella Kalolo singing Whakaaria Mai in te Reo, followed by haka)
Full Band: Heartbreak Warfare, No Such Thing, Who Says, Waiting on the Day, Something Like Olivia, In The Blood, Changing, New Light, Queen of California
Solo Acoustic: XO, Daughters, Emoji of a Wave, In Your Atmosphere
Full Band Set 2: Helpless, Paper Doll, Love on the Weekend, I Guess I Just Feel Like, Rosie, Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, If I Ever Get Around to Living, Gravity
Encore: The Heart Of Life, Still Feel Like Your Man