At about 3:30 pm on July 6, Dead & Company announced the cancellation of the evening's concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight’s Dead & Company concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is canceled,” the message reads. “Tickets purchased online through Ticketmaster or Live Nation will automatically be refunded. All other refunds can be obtained at point of purchase.”
Due to unforeseen circumstances, tonight's Dead & Company concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is canceled. Tickets will be refunded automatically at the original point of purchase. The remaining Dead & Company tour dates are unaffected.
— Dead & Company (@deadandcompany) July 6, 2022
This, of course, set off a rumor mill among fans arriving for the show and those online trying to figure out the cause. Since drummer Bill Kreutzmann has missed a number of shows during the tour (replaced by Jay Lane) and is known to have a heart condition that prevents him from playing on a consistent basis, fans first thought he may have had an attack or passed.
Then word started to go around that band guitarist John Mayer’s 94-year-old father Richard had died. This too proved to be untrue.
About an hour later, Mayer posted the following: "This morning, my father suffered a medical emergency and was transported to the ER where he received much-needed and great care. He is now fairly stable and will continue to undergo some procedures, but as you can understand, I have to stay in NYC and can't play tonight's show at Saratoga Springs." A former high-school principal, Richard Mayer lives in Fairfield, CT.
John Mayer says: pic.twitter.com/aZROOAVJxE
— black_eyed_kassey (@mama_dance9) July 6, 2022
Used to understudies like Lane, who played the previous night's show at XFINITY Theatre in Hartford, CT, some Deadheads started to calculate who might replace Mayer. But that would not be the case.
In January, Dead & Company canceled the Playing in the Sand shows in Mexico due to Covid concerns.
The current tour has five more dates:
• 7/8 - Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
• 7/10 - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
• 7/12 - The Pavilion at Star Lake, Burgettstown, PA
• 7/15-16 - Citi Field, New York, NY
