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During his concert for SiriusXM and Pandora’s Small Stage Series at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night (Feb. 9), John Mayer stopped the show to help a fan with an apparent medical issue in the crowd.
When Mayer noticed that a fan had possibly fainted in the audience, he stopped singing and immediately called for medics to help. As his band quietly vamped in the background, Mayer then asked to stop the music altogether.
“Is she conscious? Give me a thumbs-up if she’s alert,” Mayer asked the people around her, who responded with a round of thumbs-ups. “I’m gonna step off the stage for a second,” Mayer added before leading his band offstage.
When he returned, Mayer reassured the crowd that the woman was going to be fine. “Anyone in the crowd who’s worried, I’m told she waved goodbye, so she’s OK,” he said, adding, “The system works.”
The ordeal went down as Mayer was in the final stretches of the 2006 Continuum ballad “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room,” and when he came back, he launched into the much more upbeat Grammy-winning single “Waiting on the World to Change” from the same album.
Mayer’s abundance of caution comes a few days after Billie Eilish briefly stopped her show on Saturday night to help a fan in the crowd who needed an inhaler, according to concert footage captured by fans.
Wednesday’s hour-plus concert — hosted by Andy Cohen, who introduced his friend as “The King of Sob Rock” — aired live on SiriusXM’s The Spectrum (channel 28) and on the SXM app and will be rebroadcast throughout the week. On Friday, Cohen’s sit-down interview with Mayer will air on Radio Andy (channel 102) at 7 p.m. ET, and his concert will re-air on Andy Cohen’s Kiki Lounge (channel 312) at 8 p.m. ET. The concert will also air in its entirety on Saturday as part of the Pandora LIVE series at 9 p.m. (RSVP here).
Next up: Mayer kicks off his Sob Rock Tour on Feb. 17 in Albany, N.Y. The Palladium set definitely served as a preview of the trek, with Mayer performing six songs from the July 2021 album, including “New Light,” “Last Train Home” and “Wild Blue,” which just became the rocker’s eighth No. 1 hit on Billboard‘s Adult Alternative Airplay chart.
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Mötley Crüe‘s Tommy Lee has hit out at artists for promoting music and tours during the ongoing LA wildfires.
The series of wildfires, which began last Tuesday (January 7), have led to the confirmed deaths of 24 people, the evacuation of more than 180,000 residents and an estimated 12,000 buildings destroyed.
Taking to his Instagram, Lee said: “Makes me fucking sick to see most people just caring on a posting on lame ass social media! Guys right now nobody gives a flying fuck when your record drops or the next concert is when so many people are in the middle of one of the biggest disasters of all time!”
He continued: “I get that some comic relief is always needed, but Jesus Christ leave it all alone and maybe just stop and see who needs help if you can.”
A host of artists have postponed concerts in the wake of the fires including Nine Inch Nails who “paused” an announcement about their forthcoming 2025 tour “while people try to deal with all that is happening”. Metallica have also donated $500,000 (£409,664) to relief efforts for the LA wildfires.
Beyoncé also postponed a planned major announcement today (January 14), which fans have speculated could be a potential live tour in support of ‘Cowboy Carter’.
The update comes after Beyoncé donated $2.5million (£2million) to the wildfire relief fund in LA through BeyGOOD.
Last week, Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles revealed that her Malibu bungalow had been destroyed in the fires. “It was my favourite place, my sanctuary, my sacred Happy Place. Now it is gone!!,” she wrote.
In other news, The Weeknd has pushed back his new album ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ “out of respect and concern for the people of Los Angeles county”.
But other musicians have pressed on with concerts including Sophie Lloyd, who today confirmed that she will be going ahead with her first-ever US solo show in California later this week, although money raised from the gig will be donated towards the extensive relief efforts across the city.
Elsewhere, Jamie Lee Curtis has donated $1million (£820,000) to relief efforts, after talks with California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Charli XCX urged brands who send her clothing to instead donate it to those affected by the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
Guitar Center announced a new programme that will help musicians affected by replacing their instruments or gear.
Many stars have also been affected by the devastation, with Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith confirming that his home in Malibu had been destroyed and Primus’ Ler LaLonde revealing that his home had been reduced to ruins.
Last week, Paris Hilton opened up about watching her home burn down on television, while James Woods, Billy Crystal, Cary Elwes and Mark Hamill are among the other high-profile names to have been badly affected.
Paris Hilton has since donated $100,000 (£81,932) and launched a fund to help displaced families.
Members of the LA music community have also spoken to NME about being hit hard by the fatal wildfires that continue to burn throughout the city, with a number of venues, studios and artists being affected by the devastating blaze.
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