Less than a day after John Mayer tested positive for COVID-19,Dead & Company have canceled their Playing in the Sand destination event in Riviera Cancun, Mexico, which was due to start today.
The band posted the news on social media, writing that they and the promoters shut down the gathering "with much sadness and after great consideration of every possible scenario." They say they "tried everything possible to bring normalcy and to deliver a great experience and amazing music, but with each day it became increasingly clear that canceling is the correct thing to do for the fans and for our crew." They plan to e-mail refund details soon.
This comes a few days after drummer Bill Kreutzmann bowed out to recover from heart issues and a week after the promoter of the event allowed fans who didn't want to travel due the Omicron spike to get refunds.
Following Mayer's COVID announcement, the band had posted a note saying they'd be going under the name Dos Hermanos con Amigos. That lineup was to have been Mickey Hart and Bob Weir with Dead & Company bandmates Jeff Chimenti and Oteil Burbridge, plus drummer Jay Lane (filling in for Kreutzmann) and guitarist Tommy Hamilton from Joe Russo's Almost Dead (replacing Mayer). Margo Price, who would've opened a couple of the nights, was to have guested on vocals.