By Jon Wiederhorn
John Mayer has dropped out of the Prince Tribute Concert, which will take place tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota. “Change of schedule for him,” concert promoter Randy Levy told The Minneapolis Star Tribune. “That’s about all we know.”
Related: Prince’s Urn is a Miniature Paisley Park
Mayer’s slot on the bill was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser in the first place. Most recently, the pop star toured with the Grateful Dead spinoff band Dead and Company. His last album was 2013’s Paradise Valley and he really doesn’t have any connection to funk music or Prince — though he can play a mean guitar, which connects his to Prince on some level.
More directly, Mayer’s manager is Irving Azoff, who was contacted by L. Londell McMillan, a special adviser to Prince’s estate, which was organizing the tribute show when it was scheduled for the U.S. Bank Stadium. It’s unclear whether or not there’s a connection between Mayer’s disappearance and the venue change to the Xcel Energy center.
The other artists on the bill, including Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Christina Aguilera, Tori Kelly, Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia, Morris Day & The Time and Judith Hill are still scheduled to perform.
On Tuesday organizers announced additional performers, such as ex-Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura (who played with Prince in Europe) and former Prince band members Andre Cymone, Shelby J, Elisa Fiorello Dease, Kip Blackshire and Michael Phillips.
Prince died in April of an accidental overdose at his Paisley Park home in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
