John Mayer brought his Sob Rock tour to Atlanta, GA’s State Farm Arena Friday night, with support from acclaimed R&B vocalist Yebba Smith. Both musicians were backed by all-star bands.
Mayer launched the Sob Rock tour in support of his eponymous 2021 album in February with a dream team of stellar musicians, including Steve Ferrone on drums, David Ryan Harris on guitar and vocals, Jamie Muhoberac on keys, Pino Palladino on bass guitar, Tiffany Palmer on vocals, Carlos Ricketts on vocals, and Isaiah Sharkey on guitar. The fresh lineup also includes Toto‘s Lenny Castro (percussion) and Greg Phillinganes (keys and vocals), who were enlisted first to help define Sob Rock‘s throwback sound and then to perform the songs live on tour.
Yebba opened the show with a stacked cast of musicians herself, including drummer Nate Smith (Fearless Flyers). Having recently released her debut album, Dawn, the singer has received much praise, including from John Mayer, who has consistently sounded his favorable opinion of her on social media.
John Mayer’s set opened with “Last Train Home”, the opening track on Sob Rock, followed by “Belief”, “Love on the Weekend”, “Shot in the Dark”, and “Who Says”. He then delighted casual fans with his 2002 hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland”. “Helpless” then followed with a keytar solo by Greg Phillinganes, after which Mayer played an acoustic set that featured the songs “Neon”, “If I Had a Dime” (a David Ryan Harris cover performed with the man himself), a snippet of “Paper Doll”, and “Why Georgia” (also performed with David Ryan Harris). The band then joined back in for the rest of the show, which featured “Wild Blue”, “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”, a cover of Prince‘s “The Beautiful Ones”, and more.
John Mayer’s Sob Rock tour continues through the end of April, with Yebba on as support for the remainder of the tour. Check out a gallery of photos from John Mayer’s April 8th concert with Yebba at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, courtesy of Emily Butler, below.
Setlist: John Mayer | State Farm Arena | Atlanta, GA | 4/8/22
Set: Last Train Home, Belief, Love on the Weekend, Shot in the Dark, Who Says, Your Body Is a Wonderland, Helpless, Neon [1], If I Had a Dime (David Ryan Harris) [1] [2], Paper Doll [1], Why Georgia [1] [2], Moving On and Getting Over, Wild Blue, Edge of Desire, Til the Right One Comes, The Beautiful Ones (Prince), Slow Dancing in a Burning Room, In the Blood, Gravity
Encore: Born and Raised, New Light
[1] Acoustic
[2] w/ David Ryan Harris
[3] w/ “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon snippet
