John Mayer Takes Over SiriusXM's Grateful Dead Channel

04-10-2025

(SiriusXM) John Mayer recently took over SiriusXM's Grateful Dead Channel as a guest DJ to share his favorite Grateful Dead tracks. During the session, John Mayer recalled the story of the first time he heard the 6/16/85 rendition of "Scarlet Begonias" into "Fire on the Mountain" on the way to his girlfriend's house and revealed the Grateful Dead songs he listens to before going on stage.

John Mayer's guest DJ session airs on SiriusXM's Grateful Dead Channel (ch. 23) from Monday, April 7 through Sunday, April 13. SiriusXM's Grateful Dead Channel is also available anytime on the SiriusXM app.

John Mayer Remembers Exactly Where He Was Listening to This Grateful Dead Track: John Mayer: Howdy. It's John Mayer here playing some of my favorite Grateful Dead tracks, and I want to get into one that was so moving and affecting that I actually remember where I was. I was on the way to a girlfriend's house on the corner of Outpost and Franklin. I'm now moving my hands to draw the streets. That's how important and impactful this song was. I remember exactly where I was, and it is a one-of-a-kind rendition of "Scarlet Begonias" into "Fire on the Mountain" because it's almost a reggae dub version. It feels very DI, this recording, which means it feels like direct from the board and Jerry and the boys, if I may, sound as if they're playing in tempo with Jerry's delay pedal on his guitar, which is kind of the basis of dub music is that it's playing off of a delay pedal. This is Space Age. I love this version. It is from 6/16/85 in Berkeley, I believe the Greek Theater. It's "Scarlet" into "Fire on the Mountain." It's on the Grateful Dead Channel, and I'm having a blast play you these songs.

John Mayer is Playing His Favorite Grateful Dead Tracks: John Mayer: Hello all. It's your friend John Mayer here from Dead & Company. As you probably know, Grateful Dead Channel is free this month, and so to celebrate, because I know you love free stuff, I thought that I would run down nine of my favorite Grateful Dead tracks and in some cases a Grateful Dead Universe tracks by one of the band members and these are the songs that got me into the music, kept me into the music, and keep me really straight down the road of trying to play this music correctly night after night before I hit the stage, so you don't know this, but now you do. There isn't a night that goes by that I don't listen to at least one of these tracks before I take the stage so that I can do my best at bringing you to your happy place, so let's all go to our happy place together with this first track, a great "China/Rider" from 5/19/74 and it's one of these tracks where you can just move your attention around from instrument to instrument player to player and just discover something great if you kind of solo their part in your mind. It's also one of these tracks that I play in the dressing room before I go on stage. You may see me in the final minutes before I go on stage walking around with my iPhone playing music. It's probably gonna be this song because I get to center up with the exact spirit of the band and it's recorded so well. Before I take the stage, I just like to last minute hear one more impression of Jerry's playing and the bands playing before I go on stage so I can just get in that spirit, and this is one of those songs that will absolutely do it. It's "China/Rider" from May 19th, 1974, Portland, Oregon on the Grateful Dead Channel.

Upcoming John Mayer Guest DJ Broadcast Schedule:
Friday, April 11 - 12am ET
Saturday, April 12 - 3pm ET
Sunday, April 13 - 9am ET