John Mayer just keeps adding Sphere dates, and now he's up to 21 shows
What started as six nights in Las Vegas has ballooned into a three-month residency running April through June 2027, and tickets for the newest dates go on sale tomorrow.
In brief
John Mayer just keeps adding Sphere dates, and now he's up to 21 shows
Six shows became nine. Nine became 18. And now, as of Tuesday, 18 became 21. John Mayer announced three additional concerts on October 13, bringing his total number of 2027 shows at the Las Vegas Sphere to 21. General tickets for the newest dates go on sale Friday, October 16. That's tomorrow. If the pattern holds, there will probably be more.
The whole thing started pretty quietly. Mayer originally announced six concerts in September before adding 12 more on October 7, and then three more performances on June 9, 11 and 12 due to continued demand. The residency will run from April 8 through June 12, 2027. That is not a residency anymore. That is a Vegas institution.
The format is what has people talking. Every performance packs three distinct formats into a single evening. Rather than spreading his solo, band, and trio styles across separate dates, each night moves through all three. The solo portion features Mayer alone on stage with an emphasis on acoustic guitar along with performances on piano and electric guitar, and the John Mayer Trio includes Mayer, Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino. For fans who have argued for years about which version of Mayer they like best, the argument is now moot.
Due to overwhelming demand, the seven-time Grammy winner extended his residency at Las Vegas' one-of-a-kind immersive venue a second time. According to Pollstar, Mayer cited "overwhelming demand" in announcing the additional performances, promising shows that will "combine immersive sound, visual spectacle, and sensory feedback to make each show a unique, unforgettable celebration."
He knows the room. Literally. Mayer spearheaded the residencies that Dead & Company did at the Sphere in 2024 and 2025, and while that Grateful Dead spinoff group may have reached its natural end with the death of Bob Weir in January, that did not mean Mayer lost his taste for the possibilities of the venue. He is inching back into his solo career after devoting much of his attention to his work with the Dead in recent years.
The resale market is already brutal. Opening-weekend dates show tickets available almost entirely on the Ticketmaster Verified Resale portal, with prices ranging from about $3,500 downstairs to about $400 for the get-in, upper-level seats, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Face value starts considerably lower: tickets start at $129. The gap tells you everything about where demand sits right now.
For the new June 9, 11 and 12 dates, an artist pre-sale began October 14 at 10 a.m. PT at johnmayer.com, with fans who previously registered for the pre-sale having access to purchase tickets for the new dates, and all previously issued codes usable for the newly added shows. SiriusXM listeners have a separate pre-sale opportunity beginning October 15, and can tune in to "Life with John Mayer" for details on accessing it. General on-sale for the new dates begins Friday, October 16, at 10 a.m. at Ticketmaster.com.
As for what the show actually looks like inside the Sphere: the LED screen wraps the entire building and audio is spatially mapped, which means most sections deliver a strong experience. Mayer previewed his standalone solo mode earlier this month. On October 9, he played by himself at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, where he covered or riffed on Beyoncé's "XO," a-ha's "Take on Me," Harry Styles' "As It Was," and Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," in addition to a mix of his own originals, per Jambands. Call it a warm-up lap.
Mayer joins a list of megastars who have performed at the Sphere: U2, Phish, Dead & Co., the Eagles, the Backstreet Boys, and No Doubt have all graced the venue since its 2023 opening, according to Paste Magazine. Next up before Mayer's run, Metallica holds their "Life Burns Faster" residency from October 1, 2026, to March 13, 2027. So Mayer takes the room in April the moment the Metallica crowd clears out.
On Instagram, Mayer shared: "It's never lost on me that I get to work with the most talented people to make beautiful things for a living," adding "I can't wait for you to see and hear what I'm dreaming up." Twenty-one shows' worth of dreaming. The June 12 date on the calendar sits exactly 66 days after the April 8 opener. That's a long time to hold a residency, and an even longer time to hold the internet's attention. So far, he's doing both.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
