John Mayer says he’s stepping back from performing with Dead & Company following the death of Bob Weir, telling USA Today he’s ready to return his focus back towards his solo career. 

“The bus kind of dropped me off, and I get to be a lover of the music,” Mayer told the outlet in an interview published on Monday, August 24. “I was on a beautiful ride, but I couldn’t really see the vehicle because I was in it. So where I used to be on stage, I’m now in the crowd with everybody.” 

Mayer joined Dead & Company back in 2015, serving as the band’s lead guitarist and co-vocalist alongside Weir, one of the founding members of the Grateful Dead. Dead & Company’s rotating lineup has also included Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann on drums at different points, alongside Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and Jay Lane. 

Weir died in January at age 78 following a battle with cancer, leaving fans to wonder not only about the future of the band he helped build over six decades, but about what role, if any, Mayer would play in carrying it forward. 

The band’s farewell run came in August 2025, when three concerts at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park marking the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary drew an estimated 175,000 people to the city. 

Since Weir’s death, Mayer has continued to engage with the band’s catalog in other ways. In March, he launched Grateful Dead Listening Party, a weekly show on his SiriusXM channel, Life With John Mayer, where he plays Grateful Dead and Dead & Company recordings and discusses the songs with listeners. 

Mayer is scheduled to perform an invitation-only SiriusXM concert Wednesday, August 26, at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, New York. The performance will air on his channel at 5pm Saturday, August 29, preceded by a conversation with Bravo personality and fellow Deadhead Andy Cohen airing today, Friday, August 28, on Cohen’s SiriusXM channel. 

Mayer’s comments are as clear a signal as he’s given that he doesn’t see himself performing the Grateful Dead’s music in an official capacity anytime soon, though it would be premature to consider it the final word on Dead & Company’s future as a band.